The number of Influenza A (H1N1) deaths rose to 26 nationwide yesterday with the Health Ministry confirming that eight more people had succumbed to the virus.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said some of the cases were post-reported due to post-mortems that needed to be carried out to confirm the cause of death.

One died on Monday, two on Wednesday, four on Thursday and the latest one on Saturday.

He said the latest eight deaths involved people in the high-risk group except for a 20-year-old college student, who was found dead at her hostel about a week after receiving outpatient treatment from a hospital.

Two of them were from Sabah — a 24-year-old obese woman from Ranau, who died of pulmonary oedema after a bout of flu and fever, and a 74-year-old man with history of heart problem, who died of pneumonia and pulmonary oedema.

Other victims were a 47-year-old asthma patient from Sarawak and a 37-year-old obese man who died of broncho-pneumonia in Johor Baru.

Liow said that as of yesterday there were 62 patients still warded in hospitals, 13 of them in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said 202 new Influenza A (H1N1) cases were reported in the country, all of them local transmissions, bringing the total number of cases to 1,780.

Dr Ismail advised the public to take preventive measures and heed the advice given by the Health Ministry.

He said those with symptoms of the disease or in the high-risk category should seek immediate treatment.

Individuals categorised as high risk are children aged below five, senior citizens aged 65 and above, pregnant women, asthmatics, those with chronic lung disease, dysfunctional organs, cardiovascular disease, liver problems, nerve problems, diabetes, obesity and weak immune system.

Those in these groups would be given antiviral treatment without requiring confirmation from lab tests, he said.