The number of people died from swine flu in Egypt since the beginning of December 2013 has increased to 44, Ahmed Kamel, spokesman of the Egyptian Health Ministry, told Xinhua Thursday.

Virus A/H1N1, known as "swine flu," has been "categorized under the seasonal influenza by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010," the spokesman said.

Kamel said that the ministry's hospitals received this winter 577,183 suspect cases of influenza, 24 percent of which were positive. "Only 342 of them were confirmed with H1N1 virus and 44 of them died so far."

"It is just a type of seasonal flu whose effect is stronger on high-risk people like those with chronic diseases, those with immunodeficiency, old people over 65, children under two, pregnant women, etc," Kamel clarified, noting that 75 percent of the 44 deaths were similar cases.

He also denied reports that some doctors died while dealing with A/H1H1 patients.

"The only medical team member who has recently died of H1N1 virus was a nurse in a hospital at Qalioubiya governorate northern Cairo," he said.

Kamel also reassured that the Health Ministry has a strategic stock of the Tamiflu, the H1N1 antiviral drug. "Pharmacies ran out of the drug because of citizens' panic, but it is available for any patient for free at the ministry's hospitals."

The illnesses started with flu-like symptoms, then progressed to pneumonia and, in some cases, organ failure.

The Egyptian government killed about 300,000 pigs in 2009 when the virus first spread in the most populous Arab state. However, the spokesman said Thursday that it has nothing to do with "swine" unlike what a lot of Egyptians may think.