Costa Rica has confirmed the eighth death of A/H1N1 influenza in the country, Health Minister Maria Luisa Avila said on Wednesday.

"The patient was a 20-year-old male sufferring from congenital defects and a limited thorax that made him difficult to breathe once affected by the (A/H1N1) virus. He also was fed with a catheter," Avila said.

Of the 428 confirmed cases in the country at present, 85 are hospitalized and 65 are quarantined.

Avila said Costa Rica is at the highest peak of the pandemic, and the government has decided to extend summer vacations to prevent further infections among patients below 19.

So far Cost Rica has reported the largest number of A/H1N1-related deaths in Central America.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2009)