A total of 31 people have died of the A/H1N1 flu while more than 7,000 laboratory confirmed swine flu cases have been recorded in South Africa, the country's National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Tuesday.

In a statement, NICD said the latest figures were as of Monday, September 7, and that Gauteng remained the province with the highest number of the A/H1N1 laboratory confirmed cases.

An increase was also noted in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

"The underlying associations related to mortality in the four new additional deaths, include pregnancy (two), obesity (one), HIV positive (one) and a 5-year-old who was apparently healthy," the institute said.

"In the majority of persons without any underlying conditions the illness remains mild and self-limiting," it said.

Source: Xinhua