A man has reportedly died of swine flu in a Northern Ireland hospital. He is the second person to die from the potentially deadly virus on the island of Ireland in a week.
A child died of swine flu in hospital in the Irish Republic last week, with health authorities in the country fearing more cases.
The Northern Irish man is said to have died in Craigavon Area hospital in County Armagh, although it is unclear exactly when the death occurred.
The Belfast-based Irish News reported that up to seven people in the region have died from influenza since September but the paper pointed out that the province’s Public Health Agency would not confirm which strain of the virus caused the deaths.
SDLP assembly member Karen McKevitt said there appeared to be more than 150 cases of swine flu across Northern Ireland.
She added: “This is clearly a serious public health concern and one which the trusts should be upfront about when tackling. The public must be reassured that they are not at any increased risk.”
Seven years ago a swine flu outbreak killed up to 30 people in Northern Ireland.
