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Colombia reports 1st H1N1 flu death

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-10 09:15

BOGOTA -- Colombia confirmed on Tuesday a 24-year-old woman who infected A(H1N1) influenza virus died last weekend in hospital of Meissen, north of the capital Bogota.

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Minister of Social Protection Diego Palacio said the woman died because of severe pneumonia derived from the A(H1N1) influenza, which was also the first dead case of this disease in Colombia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is getting "very close" to announcing a pandemic as the new A(H1N1) flu virus continues to spread around the world, WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda said on Tuesday.

According to latest figures from WHO, the H1N1 virus has so far infected 26,563 people in 73 countries, with 140 deaths. Most of the deaths occurred in Mexico, where the virus was first identified.