HONG KONG, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The deaths related to flu A/H1N1have been on a rise in the Asia-Pacific region as more countries have reported an increasing number of fatalities.

    On Thursday, Malaysia and Laos each reported its first death case in connection with the flu. So far, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, the Philippines and China's Hong Kong had also reported deaths related to the new flu virus.

    Australia's fatalities of such cases have hit 45, which is followed by Thailand with 44 and New Zealand with 14.

    According to the Health Ministry of Malaysia on Thursday, an Indonesian student who had been infected with A/H1N1 flu was dead in Malaysia.

    The student, in his 30s, died from cardiac arrest, instead of the flu virus, Malaysian Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said.

    Although the virus was found in the body, no evidence showed that the cause of death lay with it, the minister said.

    The student was reportedly from the International Center for Education in Islamic Finance in the capital. He suffered from obesity problem and had an enlarged heart and liver.

    Sin Chew Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper, said that the student was brought to a private hospital when he was suffering from dyspnea on Tuesday, but he died two or three hours later when he was waiting for his medicine.

    In Laos, a 31-year-old man was confirmed to have died of A/H1N1flu, the first death related to the flu in the country, the Vientiane Times reported Thursday.

    The man, not identified by the report, had a history of respiratory problems, obesity and diabetes. He was also a heavy smoker and drinker.

    Lifestyle-related factors could lower the man's immunity to theA/H1N1 virus, said Bounlay Phommasack, head of Lao National Emerging Infection Disease Coordination Office.

    According to his family, the man had never been abroad before. He showed flu-like symptoms on July 9 and was transferred from a provincial hospital to Lao capital city of Vientiane on July 17. The man died later that day.

    Other family members of the man were tested negative for the A/H1N1 virus, said the newspaper.

    So far, Laos has reported 56 influenza A/H1N1 cases.

    Australia's A/H1N1 flu death toll has reached 45 on Thursday, following the death of a 77 year-old Tasmanian woman.

    Tasmania Health department spokesman Gershu Paul said the woman had also suffered from a number of chronic conditions.

    Paul said that although influenza was not the primary cause of the woman's death, it may have been a contributing factor.

    The authorities in New Zealand said A total of 14 people have died in influenza A/H1N1 related disease, New Zealand media reported on Thursday.

    The latest fatalities have been two men, aged 28 and 39, and a Auckland woman, 30, all in Auckland.

    The office of chief coroner Neil MacLean said they were still investigating the deaths.

    But the Ministry of Health said the official death rate from influenza A/H1N1 was 11. All the dead had underlying health conditions.

    New Zealand's influenza A/H1N1 confirmed cases rose to 2,525 on Thursday.

    A spokesman for Hong Kong Department of Health said there had been 116 newly confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza on Thursday, bringing the region's tally to 2,207.

    The neighboring Macao reported four newly confirmed cases on same day, taking the total number of such cases to 143 so far.

    According to the statistics from Macao's health bureau, some 22patients who tested positive for the virus were still receiving medical treatment at local hospitals, all in stable condition.

    The Vietnamese Ministry of Health confirmed 32 more influenza A/H1N1 cases on Thursday, raising the country's tally to 475.

    So far, 332 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. The rest are being quarantined and treated, all in stable conditions.