Image via Wikipedia06/24/2009 | 05:03 PM
MELBOURNE, Australia — A 50-year-old woman with life-threatening cancer on Wednesday became the third Australian with swine flu to die as Indonesia reported it first confirmed cases of the virus.
The fatality is the fourth swine flu-related death in the Asia-Pacific region. The Philippines reported a patient with the virus died on Monday.
The Australian woman was admitted to a Melbourne hospital on Saturday with respiratory illness and died Wednesday, a day after testing positive for swine flu, Victoria state Health Minister Daniel Andrews said.
Authorities are not certain whether any of the three swine flu-related deaths in Australia were directly caused by the virus, because all of them had other serious illnesses.
"We know that for immunosuppressed people, especially those who are being treated for life-threatening cancers, any respiratory illness can seriously compromise their health," said senior health official Rosemary Lester.
Australian confirmed 2,733 swine flu cases as of Wednesday, an increase of 140 in a day.
Australia's nearest Asian neighbor, Indonesia, announced its first swine flu infections Wednesday. A British woman and an Indonesian pilot who had been abroad were recovering after being admitted to hospitals with fever and flu-like symptoms.
Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said the patients have been isolated and that "the disease has not yet spread in Indonesia."
But she warned that it could become more deadly if it were to mutate with bird flu, which is endemic in national poultry flocks.
Indonesia has been the country hardest hit by bird flu, with 119 human deaths since it first struck in 2003. The vast majority of bird flu infections have been fatal.
Thailand's Public Health Ministry confirmed 86 new cases of swine flu, bringing the country's total to 985 cases.
Public Health Minister Withaya Kaewparadai said Wednesday most patients had fully recovered and only 15 remained hospitalized. None was in critical condition.
The ministry earlier said the flu had been found at dozens of schools and universities since the country's first case was confirmed in late April, prompting authorities to temporarily close them for disinfecting.
The World Health Organization has declared swine flu a pandemic. As of Monday, it said more than 52,000 cases had been reported worldwide with 231 deaths, mostly in Mexico and the United States. - AP
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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