ID :
86867
Fri, 10/30/2009 - 16:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/86867
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea reports 1 more flu-related death
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- An 82-year-old woman infected with the Influenza A virus has died in South Korea, raising the total death tally from the contagious disease here to 34, health authorities said Friday.
The patient, who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus on Tuesday, was treated
with anti-viral drugs but died one day later as her health conditions worsened
due to complications such as pneumonia, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and
Family Affairs said in an emailed statement.
The woman was categorized as a highly vulnerable patient group to the disease,
given her old age and heart problems, the ministry added. Of the total confirmed
deaths, 29 people were elderly people with chronic disease, the ministry added.
The latest death report comes after South Korean people have been spooked by the
rapid spread of the virus and a spike in the death toll in recent weeks. An
average of 4,000 people were infected with the virus on a daily basis last week,
with around 20 people losing their lives due to flu-linked complications this
month alone.
Hundreds of schools remain shut as the virus is spreading fast among students and
as a growing number of people complain flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing
and other respiratory problems, raising concerns that the virus could turn into a
pandemic.
The government is rushing to assuage such public fears, saying that it has a
sufficient amount of anti-viral treatment drugs and its recently-started
vaccinations will ease the spread of the disease.
On Tuesday, South Korea launched its first round of vaccinations under a plan to
inoculate 35 percent of the country's 49 million people. The first batch of
vaccinations is only for medical and quarantine staff, who are far more likely to
be exposed to the virus on a daily basis and could transmit it to patients.
In a related move, the ministry said Thursday that all pharmacies in the country
have been supplied with treatment drugs such as Tamiflu that will be handed
out free starting this week to anyone with a doctor's prescription.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
The patient, who had tested positive for the H1N1 virus on Tuesday, was treated
with anti-viral drugs but died one day later as her health conditions worsened
due to complications such as pneumonia, the Ministry for Health, Welfare and
Family Affairs said in an emailed statement.
The woman was categorized as a highly vulnerable patient group to the disease,
given her old age and heart problems, the ministry added. Of the total confirmed
deaths, 29 people were elderly people with chronic disease, the ministry added.
The latest death report comes after South Korean people have been spooked by the
rapid spread of the virus and a spike in the death toll in recent weeks. An
average of 4,000 people were infected with the virus on a daily basis last week,
with around 20 people losing their lives due to flu-linked complications this
month alone.
Hundreds of schools remain shut as the virus is spreading fast among students and
as a growing number of people complain flu-like symptoms such as fever, coughing
and other respiratory problems, raising concerns that the virus could turn into a
pandemic.
The government is rushing to assuage such public fears, saying that it has a
sufficient amount of anti-viral treatment drugs and its recently-started
vaccinations will ease the spread of the disease.
On Tuesday, South Korea launched its first round of vaccinations under a plan to
inoculate 35 percent of the country's 49 million people. The first batch of
vaccinations is only for medical and quarantine staff, who are far more likely to
be exposed to the virus on a daily basis and could transmit it to patients.
In a related move, the ministry said Thursday that all pharmacies in the country
have been supplied with treatment drugs such as Tamiflu that will be handed
out free starting this week to anyone with a doctor's prescription.
kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)
