China reports first death of A/H1N1 influenza

LHASA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has reported its first death of A/H1N1 influenza on Tuesday, according to a Health Ministry statement on its website.

An 18-year-old woman in Maizhokunggar County, Lhasa City died of the A/H1N1 virus at about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday at the county hospital. She was taken to the hospital on Saturday for coughing, sore throat and muscular stiffness. Her body temperature was as high as 40 degrees, a Tibetan regional health department official said Tuesday.

The case has been confirmed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, he said.

The Health Ministry sent 200,000 doses of vaccine to Lhasa by air on Tuesday to help contain the virus from spreading in the region. More vaccines will be sent to the western and plateau provinces soon.

The national capital Beijing reported its first A/H1N1 case with heavy sysptoms on Tuesday, a municipal health bureau official said.

The 72-year-old man is receiving treatment with breathing machine at the Beijing Ditan Hospital. He had suffered the chronic obstructive lung diseases for about 20 years. He was confirmed to be infected with the A/H1N1 on Friday with a body temperature as high as 38.5 degrees, he said.

Beijing had reported 2,181 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza by Monday afternoon, about 83.6 percent of which had recovered, according to the municipal health bureau.