Woman dies from swine flu in south of country

A woman hospitalised with the swine flu virus has died, health chiefs confirmed tonight.

The victim, the 10th person in the Republic to fall victim to the H1N1 pandemic, had an underlying medical condition.

She was from the south of the country.

In a statement, the Department of Health, Health Minister Mary Harney and the Health Service Executive offered their sympathy to the family and friends of the patient.

In the last week five people with the H1N1 virus have died, including a teenage boy.

Health chiefs disclosed that rates of flu-like sickness have soared in recent weeks to 158.8 per 100,000 of the population.

However, they maintained the illness is mild in the majority of cases.

Pregnant women – who are four times more likely to develop serious complications or be admitted to hospital if they contract the virus – have also been urged to protect themselves and their unborn child by getting vaccinated against swine flu.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) recommended all pregnant women – from 14 weeks pregnant to six weeks after giving birth – and those with other medical conditions should be vaccinated.