According to Venezuelan media and local health authorities, an outbreak of H1N1 swine flu has killed 17 people in the country and infected another 250.
Most of the cases were in border states near Colombia. The Venezuelan government has not confirmed the figures. But officials said three million vaccinations has been carried out so far this year, and high-risk groups had largely been immunized.
H1N1 swine flu is an influenza strain that swept around the world in a 2009/2010 pandemic. The World Health Organisation said the death toll reached 18,500 during that period.