Costa Rican health authorities confirmed on Thursday the 9th case of influenza A/H1N1 in the country.

The new confirmed case involves a patient who was in contact with other infected patients, so the national status was changed to "epidemic contact," Vice Health Minister Ana Morice told Xinhua.

"We keep a sensitive vigilance, to the moment we have determined 873 suspicious cases, from them we have discarded 735 with lab tests from the Costa Rican Institute of Nutrition and Health Investigation and Teaching (INCIENSA)," Morice said.

Morice said that currently the health authorities are investigating a new symptom case in Cartago province.

One death related to the new flu, involving a 52-year-old patient, has so far been reported in Costa Rica.

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2009)