The Colombian government confirmed four new deaths from A/H1N1 flu on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 13 in the country.

The Social Protection Ministry said three men in the capital Bogota and a woman in Cundinamarca province died of A/H1N1 flu.

The ministry said there have been 259 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu in the country so far, as well as 7,838 suspected cases.

The Colombian government has tightened control at hospitals and health centers to avoid a large-scale spread of the disease in the country.

It is possible that the number of A/H1N1 flu cases would increase rapidly in the country during the coming rain season, said the ministry.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2009)