Wed, November 18, 2009
GENEVA, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Swiss baby has died of A/H1N1 influenza, the first fatality from the virus in this country, the official Swissinfo.ch news website reported on Wednesday.
The five-month-old baby boy, who died at the weekend in the canton of Basel Country, had other health conditions, including a cleft lip and palate, a heart problem and a possible immune deficiency, health officials were quoted as saying.
Switzerland has so far recorded more than 1,550 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza, including 30 patients who had to be admitted to hospital. The Federal Health Office has warned that cases would continue to increase in the next few weeks.
A national voluntary immunization program has already started, with at-risk groups being targeted first. These groups include the chronically ill, pregnant women, children with previous health problems, and medical staff, according to the report.
The World Health Organization (WHO), which declared the A/H1N1 flu as a pandemic in June, said so far more than 206 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases, with at least 6,260 deaths.
