Swine flu deaths in Costa Rica total 12

A 6-year-old girl died from the H1N1 virus (often referred to as “swine flu”) last week, bringing the death toll in Costa Rica to 12, according to the Health Ministry.

Henry Wassterman, a preventive medicine specialist at the Health Ministry, told local media that the girl died in the National Children’s Hospitals, after she had been admitted with symptoms of encephalitis.

The patient was not identified due to her age. She was from Puntarenas, located on the central Pacific coast, where health officials are battling an outbreak of dengue. The 6-year-old patient also had dengue, Wasserman said.

In the country, the dengue epidemic surpassed 31,000 cases on Aug. 24, while H1N1 cases exceed 200. In 2012, the country had 27,000 cases of dengue. The year with the most dengue patients occurred in 2005, with 40,000 patients.

The H1N1 flu virus caused a world-wide pandemic in 2009. It is now a seasonal flu.