Child's death brings swine flu toll to 11

Tony Ryall. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The national death toll from H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, has officially reached 11, following the death of a child in the Mid-Central District Health Board region.

The youngster - whose details will not be released - had underlying medical conditions and died in the past week.

News of that death came the same day it was revealed an unborn child had become the second swine flu-related death in Queensland.

Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey said a pregnant 19-year-old woman lost her 36-week-old baby at the weekend because of swine flu complications.

The woman yesterday remained in intensive care in Townsville.

In this country, Health Minister Tony Ryall said some hospitals were postponing elective surgery and their intensive care units were at full capacity.

However, they remained confident they could continue to provide adequate care.

As at noon yesterday, 74 people were in hospital with swine flu or complications and 26 of those were in intensive care.

Nationally, the numbers infected by the H1N1 virus climbed to 2443, up 75 from Monday.

However, authorities repeated the actual number of sufferers would be much higher as only a small proportion of people with symptoms were being tested.

The Ministry of Health also reiterated health advice to pregnant women.

Deputy-Director of Public Health Fran McGrath said expectant mothers were one group at greater risk of swine flu.

She recommended pregnant women seek medical advice promptly if they became unwell with influenza-like symptoms.

While there was no reason for pregnant women to be alarmed or go to extraordinary lengths to protect themselves, simple precautions could be taken such as washing hands frequently, staying away from sick people and avoiding crowds.

Dr McGrath also warned mums-to-be not to take any anti-viral medication without first seeing a doctor, who would discuss treatments.