HONG KONG, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Wednesday reported 20 more A/H1N1 flu related death cases, while South Korea on the same day announced encouraging news to become the world's 12th vaccine producers.
Thailand's Public Health Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Dr. Paijit Warachit said the country confirmed 20 more influenza A/H1N1 death related cases on Wednesday, bringing the country's death toll to 44.
According to Paijit, there are a total of 6,776 infected cases in Thailand, among which 6,697 have recovered and 35 remained in hospital, including seven in serious condition.
Paijit said that the ministry is planning to take three tough measures to curb the outbreak of the influenza A/H1N1, providing the patients with oseltamivir immediately and calling on the infectious cases to stop working and studying.
He believed that the ministry will see better situation within some one month after taking those measures.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai called on the public not to be panic over the epidemic. He denied the reports that Thailand has become the fourth largest number of death toll from the virus, saying that many countries have halted their reports of death toll.
Singapore on Wednesday also reported two more cases of A/H1N1 related death, bringing the number of total fatality cases here to three.
The second case is a 13-year-old male suffering from epilepsy who was admitted to local hospital on July 19 and diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu. The boy passed away on Wednesday morning. The cause of death was status epilepticus, with A/H1N1 infection as a contributing factor.
The third case is a 55-year-old man suffering from motor neuron disease who was admitted to intensive care unit on July 18 and diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu. The patient passed away on Wednesday afternoon. The cause of death was severe pneumonia with advanced motor neuron disease and underlying A/H1N1.
As the disease continues to claim lives in the Pacific-Asian region, a South Korea vaccine maker on Wednesday announced encouraging news that it has become the world's 12th influenza vaccine producer and started selling its domestically developed vaccine in the day.
According to South Korea's Green Cross Corp., it earned an approval for the sale of the vaccine it developed, named "GCFlu," from the Korea Food & Drug Administration (KFDA).
The vaccine maker said it will produce enough doses of its vaccine that could cover up to 3.3 million people by the end of this month and 5 million people by the end of the year.
The countries with influenza A producers include the United States, Britain, France, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Japan.
In Vietnam, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health confirmed 35 more cases of A/H1N1 influenza, bringing the total number of flu patients to 443 in the country.
So far, 328 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. The rest are being quarantined and treated, all in stable conditions, said the ministry.
Malaysian Health Ministry on Wednesday also reported 44 new A/H1N1 flu cases, bringing the number of total cases in the country to 921.
The ministry said that 909 or 97 percent patients of the disease had recovered, 11 or 2 percent patients were still receiving treatment in hospitals, while four or 1 percent patients were undergoing home quarantine for out-patient treatment.
Meanwhile, a university was closed on the day in Permatang Pauhin the Penang State, northern Peninsular Malaysia, after its ten students tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus.
The university with total 5,000 students was closed for seven days, when its 200 students developed flu symptoms and had been quarantined at their homes or hostels on the day.
Indonesian on Wednesday recorded 67 new A/H1N1 cases, putting the total cases to 239 in the country.
Dr. Tjandra Yoga Aditama, director general of Disease Control and Environmental Health of the Health Ministry, said that 16 of the newly infected persons had a history of overseas traveling/
In China's Hong Kong, the health authorities said there had been 127 newly confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza in the 24 hours to 2:30 p.m. (0630 GMT) Wednesday.
This brings the total number of A/H1N1 influenza cases to 2,091in Hong Kong, said the spokesman.
China's Macao reported three newly confirmed cases, bringing the total number of such cases to 139 so far.
According to the statistics from Macao's Health Bureau, some 25patients who tested positive for the virus were still receiving medical treatments at local hospitals to date, and their health conditions remained stable.
