Child dies from swine flu in Dublin hospital

A child has died in a Dublin hospital from the H1N1 strain of influenza which was responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak.

In a statement on Thursday night, the HSE said the child died last week having contracted the flu virus H1N1.

The child is understood to have been from the west of Ireland but had been transferred to Dublin for treatment.

The HSE said flu rates continued to rise and were expected to do so for more than or two more weeks.

“Those who have not got a vaccine at this stage are encouraged to do so as the vaccine covers the virus that is around at the moment,” it said.

“If you get the symptoms of flu you should stay at home look after yourself and get in touch with a GP if you think your condition is getting worse.”

The latest weekly flu report from the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), published on Thursday, said consultation rates with GPs in relation to flu like illness continued to increase across the country in recent days.

It said there were 124 confirmed hospitalised cases of flu in the past week, bringing to 344 the total number of hospitalised cases notified in the 2015/2016 flu season .

“The highest age specific rates were in those aged less than one year. The median age of hospitalised cases for the season to date is 24 years (ranging from 0-94 years).”

In total so far this season 45 patients with flu have been admitted to intensive care units.

Nine flu deaths had been reported to the HPSC so far this season.

A number of deaths have been linked across Europe to the H1N1 strain of influenza this year, including in Russia where over 100 people have died from a swine flu outbreak, local media reported.

Regional authorities in Siberia have instructed employees of nursery and educational institutions to wear face masks as a prevention against the spread of the flu.