OTTAWA--Three new swine flu-related deaths were reported in Canada on Wednesday, bringing the nationwide death toll from the A(H1N1) virus to 12 as total confirmed cases neared 5,000, officials said.

Two of the three who died -- a woman in her forties in central Manitoba province and a woman in her seventies from the eastern province of Quebec -- had underlying medical conditions, health authorities from those provinces reported.

In the last days 856 new cases were identified, bringing the total number of infections to 4,906, of which 284 have required hospitalization.

Health authorities last week had hoped a sudden spike in the number of cases in Canada would subside over the coming summer months, but warned the virus might regain strength in the fall.

Canada has the third highest number of confirmed swine flu cases and deaths, after the United States and Mexico, the countries where the epidemic first emerged in April.