South Africa’s second swine flu death was confirmed in Bloemfontein on Saturday, amid media reports that the victim died from blood poisoning.
The 15-year-old teenager was admitted to Pelonomi Hospital with pneumonia symptoms but the health department confirmed he died of the N1H1 virus.
”We have confirmed it with the National Institute of
Communicable Diseases (NICD),” said health department spokesperson Fidel Hadebe.
Tests were also carried out on a Western Cape man, Johann Hack, who died on Tuesday.
”The tests have been done and we are waiting for the NICD to officially notify us,” Hadebe said.
If confirmed, Hack would be the country’s third victim.
Earlier this week, it was thought that a man from KwaZulu-Natal had also died from the pandemic.
”But the specimen was not enough therefore the laboratory tests were not conclusive,” said Hadebe.
The 44-year-old man from Phoenix was admitted to Mount Edgecombe hospital earlier with pneumonia symptoms.
Meanwhile, four under-21 Lions players were reportedly diagnosed with swine flu, prompting organisers to cancel a game against Boland.
Another 22 players in the Lions under-19 and under-21 groups are also sick.
”It is too early to say how many have swine flu,” coach Timmy Goodwin told Beeld.
In the Currie Cup, Cheetahs players Louis Strydom and Naka Drotske were also ill.
Six players in the Free State’s under-19 team have been pulled out of a game against the Griffons in Bloemfontein on Friday because they were suffering from flu.
Several schools in Pretoria North have also confirmed cases of swine flu.
The country’s first H1N1 victim was 22-year-old Stellenbosch University student Ruan Muller.
Swine flu was first recorded in South Africa in the middle of June. In early August, the NICD put the number of cases in the country at 480. – Sapa