Australia recorded its 10th death linked to swine flu Thursday, while Chinese officials ruled that a woman with H1N1 who died was not killed by the virus.
A 45-year-old man died in the intensive care ward of a Sydney hospital on Monday, New South Wales state Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
The man had other medical conditions and the virus had not been confirmed as the cause of death, she said.
Australia has the most cases in the region, with more than 4,568 confirmed as of Thursday, an increase of 198 in one day.
In China, a 34-year-old woman who had tested positive for swine flu was found dead early Wednesday in her ward at the No. 1 People's Hospital in Hangzhou, the capital of coastal Zhejiang province, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Officials had initially said it was the country's first swine flu-related death.
An official surnamed Chen from the Zhejiang Health Department said that experts ruled the death accidental.
"An autopsy of the body is being conducted by police to find out the actual cause," he said.
The woman, who had been admitted June 23, had a normal temperature and showed no other flu symptoms, Xinhua had said.
China's Health Ministry said late Wednesday that there have been 867 reported cases of swine flu. Among the latest were seven students at the Nanhu Zhongyuan Primary School in Beijing who were diagnosed on Wednesday, Xinhua said.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand's Public Health Ministry confirmed 83 new cases, bringing the country's total to 1,556, along with five swine flu-related deaths. Most patients have fully recovered and only 33 remained hospitalized. One is in critical condition.
New Zealand saw another 114 confirmed cases Thursday, taking the nationwide count to 825 _ 376 more than a week ago, health officials said. There have been no deaths.
"It is clear that the numbers are increasing rapidly and likely to continue to increase for some months yet," said deputy director of public health, Dr. Fran McGrath. "Confirmed case numbers are now only a small proportion of the total number of people with influenza."
Bangladesh confirmed seven more cases of swine flu, raising the total to 16, said government doctor Mahmudur Rahman. Rahman said nine people remain under treatment, while seven others have recovered.
Worldwide, there were 332 deaths and more than 77,000 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, according to the latest figures available from the U.N.'s World Health Organization.
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