Three people died of A/H1N1 flu over the weekend in the southern Spanish region of Andalucia, raising the country's total death toll to 15, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

The latest victim was a 20-year-old woman who was also suffering from extreme obesity. She died three days after being admitted to Granada's San Cecilio Hospital.

Her symptoms included high fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and vomiting, according to the health authorities from the Andalucio Autonomous Government.

Two other women died on Saturday. The first, a 39-year-old, died in the city of Seville three days after giving birth to a healthy baby by caesarean operation. The second was a 50-year-old woman who died in Cadiz's Punta de Europa Hospital.

The flu has been spreading swiftly in Spain. However, Spain's autonomous regional governments have said they will not change the early September start date for the region's schools, which serve 7.5 million pupils.

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2009)