TORONTO - Ontario has confirmed another death associated with the swine flu.
An 81-year-old Toronto woman is the 10th person to die in Ontario who tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
Ministry of Health officials say woman had been in hospital in intensive care for some time.
Ontario now has 3,154 confirmed cases of H1N1 and 138 people have been hospitalized since the end of April.
The Public Health Agency of Canada website puts the national death toll associated with swine flu at 25 and the Ontario death reported today is in addition to that number.
Last week, the province changed the way it monitors and reports on swine flu, with the ministry updating both swine and seasonal flu activity across the province every Friday instead of daily.
The province says that will allow health officials to focus resources on enhanced surveillance and follow-up of severe cases and outbreaks.
Across Canada, there have been nearly 8,000 cases of the H1N1 since the outbreak began, and most have been mild.
Ontario reports an average of 9,000 cases of seasonal flu each year, and approximately 500 deaths.
Nationwide, the common flu sends about 20,000 Canadians to hospital each year. The Public Health Agency's website says between 4,000 and 8,000 Canadians can die of influenza and its complications annually, depending on the severity of the season.
