The death toll from A/H1N1 influenza in South Korea has increased for the second consecutive week while cases of Influenza-like Illness (ILI) have declined, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs said on Thursday.

The Ministry said in a press release that an additional 22 deaths from the A/H1N1 virus were reported last week, increasing the total number of fatalities to 170 as of December 19, and that 50 patients are currently being treated for severe flu complications at intensive care units.

However, the ministry also said cases of ILI per 1,000 outpatients have dropped by 34.8 percent from the previous week to12.32 patients, adding that the average number of daily antiviral prescriptions cut down by 25.4 percent to 15,258 cases.

"The prevalence of A/H1N1 flu disease has continued to diminish as we actively distributed antiviral drugs, but we're seeing more fatal cases in high-risk groups where proper vaccination is unavailable," a ministry official was quoted as saying by local media Yonhap News Agency.

The World Health Organization announced Wednesday that at least11,516 people worldwide have been killed by the pandemic.　

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2009)