Malaysia mutes National Day party as flu deaths up

Malaysia will scale down its National Day celebration next week to curb the spread of swine flu, as the death toll from the virus rose to 69, the health ministry said Monday.

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said children's participation in the main celebration next Monday will be reduced, and the venue will likely be shifted from a closed stadium to the large open compound in the Parliament complex.

"We must be vigilant but don't panic, please," Liow told a news conference.

The celebrations are to mark Malaysia's 52nd year of independence from British rule. Officials had planned to scale down the celebrations anyway because of the economic slump.

Liow said a 38-year-old teacher was the latest casualty of swine flu, raising the death toll to 69. The woman died Wednesday of pneumonia, and tests confirmed that the H1N1 virus was the primary cause, he said.

The death rate in Malaysia has spiraled since the first fatality July 23. Liow said the World Health Organization sent a team of three experts to Malaysia on Thursday to assess the unusually sharp spike in deaths.

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Liow said 70 percent of the deaths were attributed to other underlying health problems, while the rest were largely due to delayed treatment.

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The government has spent at least 54 million ringgit ($15.4 million) to buy medication, including 14 million ringgit ($4 million) on vaccines for 200,000 people that is due to arrive in two batches by October and January, he said.

It also has doubled its stockpile of antiviral drugs to cover 20 percent of the country's 28 million people, he said.