Swine flu has been confirmed as the cause of death for one person in Otago and two in Southland, Dunedin coroner David Crerar says.
Mr Crerar would not give any further details about the deaths or say where they occurred, but one was an Invercargill man who died in Auckland.
Deaths due to other viruses, such as seasonal flu, were not usually reported through the media, and he saw no reason to breach normal confidentiality.
"I prefer not to be specific over deaths like this.
"They are natural deaths," he said.
"There has not been an alarming increase in the number of deaths."
The person who died in Otago did not have other underlying medical conditions, to his knowledge.
Swine flu was being investigated in "several" other deaths.
It was tested for whenever somebody died of a viral illness, Mr Crerar said.
Nationally, the Ministry of Health has reported 14 deaths from swine flu and said other deaths were being investigated by the Office of the Chief Coroner.
More than 3000 people have been confirmed as having the virus.
However, that would only be a small proportion of those with swine flu, because most people were not tested.
