Brazil’s swine flu death toll has soared to almost 200, Health Minister Jose Temporao said Tuesday.

His new figure of 192 was double the figure given by the health ministry last Wednesday, although a tally of individual states last week already came to 132 deaths.

If confirmed by the World Health Organization, the new toll would mean Brazil — population 190 million — has overtaken Mexico to become the country with the third largest number of fatalities from the A(H1N1) virus, after the United States and Argentina.

The bulk of the victims died in southern Brazil, where the southern hemisphere’s winter is at its peak.

According to Health Ministry figures, 40 percent of the victims were from Sao Paulo state; 23 percent were from Rio Grande do Sul state, which borders on Argentina and Uruguay, and 22 percent were from Parana, which borders on Argentina and Paraguay.

Source/Full Story: breitbart.com

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