SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) -- A 67-year-old South Korean woman infected with Influenza A (H1N1) has died, health authorities said Tuesday, raising the nation's flu death toll to 15.
The patient had been undergoing treatment for breast cancer and diabetes at a local hospital before testing positive for type-A influenza earlier this month. She died of respiratory and multiple organ failure caused by the contagious virus on Oct. 11, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said in an e-mailed statement.
Since it was first reported here in May, the H1N1 virus has claimed the lives of 15 South Koreans, including one infant. Most of them were categorized as "highly vulnerable" patients who were either elderly or suffering from chronic diseases.
The government is scurrying to stockpile antiviral drugs and vaccines for fear the flu may spread more widely, and plans to vaccinate 27 percent of its 49 million people by February next year.
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