A 3-year-old child is confirmed to have succumbed to the deadly virus A(H1N1) today, bringing the death toll to 70, Health director-general Dr Ismail Merican said in a statement today.

He said the child, who had died on Aug 18, had apparently suffered from H1N1 Encephalitis with Celebral Odema and Multiorgan Failure.

NONE Ismail (left) said the child had received early treatment on Aug 12 after he suffered from high fever and fits for two days.

"But his condition deteriorated and he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) where he was given the Tamiflu treatment," he said, adding that the child was tested positive for A(H1N1) five days later.

Mohd Ismail also noted that 52 patients with influenza-like illnesses (ILI) have been admitted for treatment and 162 patients have been discharged during the same time, leaving the 1,345 patients with ILI.

He has confirmed that 202 of them, who are receiving treatment both in private and government hospitals, have been diagnosed with A(H1N1).

No confirmation on two deaths

On the same note, out of the 202 positive cases, 42 are being treated in the ICU and two are reported to have died but this is yet to be confirmed by the committee which reviews A(H1N1) related deaths.

h1n1 flu malaysia school children students wearing mask 260609 05 Of these patients, 38 of them have high risk factors, 15 with chronic symptoms, nine were obese, six had diabetes, three were children/babies, three in their pregnancy/postnatal stage and two had Downs Syndrome.

Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded 239,397 A(H1N1) cases with 2,578 deaths in 182 countries up until today.

In its report, said Ismail, the WHO reminded that these figures do not reflect the actual numbers and it is no longer a requirement for any country to report the number of cases.