H1N1 flu-linked deaths reach 100 in Japan+

KYOTO, Dec. 6 Kyodo - The number of deaths related to the H1N1 flu epidemic has reached 100 in Japan as the Kyoto municipal government said Sunday a man who had an underlying illness and a vaccination in the city has died after infection.

Having a fever of more than 38 C on Friday, the 74-year-old man tested positive
for type A influenza virus and was given the anti-flu drug Tamiful. But he
collapsed at home around 10:30 a.m. Saturday and died around 5 p.m. that day at
a hospital, the city said.
His infection with the H1N1 flu was confirmed Sunday by virus gene analysis, it
added.
According to the municipal government, the man had chronic diseases such as
malignant lymphoma and diabetes. He was vaccinated for the new flu on Nov. 16.
The nation's first infection with the H1N1 flu was confirmed in May in a high
school student from Osaka Prefecture at the quarantine of Narita airport.
The National Institute of Infectious Diseases said in late November that the
number of people who have visited doctors due to influenza since early July is
estimated to have totaled 10.75 million. Many are believed to have been
infected with the H1N1 flu.