South Africa has confirmed its first death from swine flu, believed to be the first officially documented fatality from the virus in sub-Saharan Africa.
Health officials said a 22-year-old student had died on 28 July, and tests had confirmed the cause of death as the onset of Pneumonia following the initial infection by the H1N1 influenza virus.
150 Confirmed Cases
The country has had at least 150 confirmed swine flu cases, the highest officially reported rate in sub-Saharan Africa. This may be due to more stringent testing and reporting methods carried out by the South Africans.
Cases Unreported
The illness has caused hundreds of deaths in North and South America. Dozens more have died in Asia and Europe. Africa was thought to be one of the last continents to be hit by the virus and so far the number of officially reported cases are low.
ECDPC report
South Africa confirmed its first case of the disease on 18 June 2009 and has had 151 cases in total, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The SA health ministry called the student's death "unfortunate and deeply regretted".
Pneumonia
A statement from the ministry said he had been ill for about a week before going to a Western Cape hospital, where he was treated with antibiotics for the onset of pneumonia, often the final stage of the disease. Unfortunately the treatment was unsuccesful and he died two days later.
Mild Cases
The ministry's statement added: "We are encouraged by the fact that the majority of cases in South Africa have so far been mild and we hope that this will remain so, despite this unfortunate death."
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