JERUSALEM, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Israel's Health Ministry on Sunday said a second patient carrying the H1N1 virus had died, Israeli media reported.

A 24-year-old woman died in a hospital in the northern town of Nahariya, they said.

A 35-year-old male resident of the southern city of Eilat became the first victim of the deadly strain last week and 21 people diagnosed with H1N1 remain hospitalised.

A Health Ministry spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. The ministry said last week on its website that more than 1,000 cases of H1N1 had been diagnosed.

The World Health Organisation declared an H1N1 influenza pandemic on June 11. The new virus has killed more than 800 people worldwide since it emerged in April. (Writing by Joseph Nasr, Editing by Jon Boyle)

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