Brasilia, Aug 28 (EFE) A total of 577 people have died from swine flu in Brazil, putting the South American nation at the top of the list of countries reporting fatalities from the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, the health ministry said.

The mortality rate, however, is 0.29 percent in Brazil, well below the 1.08 percent rate in Argentina, the 0.75 percent rate in Chile and the 0.67 percent rate in Costa Rica, which have the highest levels in Latin America, health officials said Thursday.

The toll from swine flu stood at 488 as of last Friday, the health ministry said, noting that the jump in the death toll was due to lab tests coming back positive for people who died between Aug 16 and Aug 22.

Brazil now has the highest number of deaths from swine flu followed by the US with 522, Argentina with 439 and Mexico with 179, according to the World Health Organization.