Indonesia reports first death from swine flu

Jul 26, 2009, 5:02 GMT

   Jakarta - A six-year-old Indonesian girl who died of pneumonia tested positive for H1N1 swine flu, making her the first confirmed death linked to the virus in Indonesia, media reports said Sunday.

   The Health Ministry's website said the girl had died last Wednesday in a Jakarta hospital, where she received treatment for three days.

   According to Tjandra Yoga Aditama, the ministry's director general of disease control and environmental health, the patient had suffered from severe pneumonia. He said she was admitted to the hospital with fever, cough and respiratory problems and her condition kept getting worse even after she received medical treatment.

   Aditama said in the ministry's website that the child had been having health problems for several years and lately developed severe pneumonia. Subsequent tests showed she was infected with influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu.

   Aditama appealed on the public to wear a face mask and avoid outings when displaying flu symptoms.

   As of July 24, Indonesia had recorded 343 swine flu cases.