Four more people have died of swine flu in Turkey, bringing the national death toll from A(H1N1) to 19, the health ministry said on Thursday.

A six-year-old girl, a 28-year-old man and two women, aged 32 and 33, were the latest victims of the disease, the ministry said in a brief statement.

Turkey reported its first death from swine flu on October 24 and fatalities have sharply increased this week.

Earlier this week, authorities began administering swine flu injections to medical workers, the first step in its plan to vaccinate some 28-million people in the country.

More than 5 700 people have died worldwide since the virus was first discovered in April, with most of the deaths - 4 175 - in the Americas region, according to the World Health Organisation. - AFP