Tauranga swine flu victim dies | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

A Western Bay of Plenty person has become the first in the region to die from complications from confirmed swine flu - an illness that 80 per cent of those who become sick with the flu will now be suffering from.

Details about the name and age of the victim were unavailable.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board medical officer of health Phil Shoemack said the patient had been in hospital for "a few weeks".

Lab tests confirmed that the illness at the time of their death was caused by the H1NI virus and they died from complications associated with it.

Mr Shoemack said the H1N1 virus was now the most common influenza virus circulating around the globe.

 Mr Shoemack said 80 per cent of all influenza cases in New Zealand were likely to be H1N1. "By Christmas [last year] we knew that 80 per cent of everyone who got influenza last year, got the swine flu strain."

A serum survey was done last summer and showed 30 per cent of those surveyed in the sample now had antibodies to H1N1, he said. Those most susceptible to H1N1 were young children, women who were pregnant and younger adults.

Mr Shoemack said the elderly were more likely to have immunity to it from when they were younger. "There was another H1N1 virus circulating the globe in 1918 and it continued to be one of the influenza viruses in the world until 1950."

Mr Shoemack said the recent Western Bay death was a reminder that influenza could be a severe infection, and from time to time, people would die from it.

About 200 people a year die from influenza and there were up to 50 H1N1 related deaths in New Zealand last year.

Mr Shoemack said people could protect themselves by getting the influenza vaccine, which protected against the H1N1 strain, keeping on top of their personal hygiene by regular hand washing, and staying home when ill.