NT swine flu suspect dies after mercy dash

LARINE STATHAM

June 20th, 2009

AN Aboriginal man from WA being treated in Alice Springs Hospital has become the first person with swine flu to die in Australia.

The 26-year-old man died last night after being diagnosed with the virus on Thursday. Health authorities could not yet confirm whether the man died because of swine flu, as he had been suffering from a number of other serious health conditions.

The man had been transferred from Alice Springs Hospital to the Royal Adelaide Hospital intensive care unit on Monday. SA Health Minister John Hill said the RAH would continue to investigate the cause of death.

“What we do know is that this man was seriously ill from a number of conditions and the reason he was sent to Royal Adelaide because of those conditions,” he said.

“How the swine flu interacted with those conditions and what’s the ultimate cause of death is something we can’t really speculate about.”

SA Health’s chief medical officer Paddy Phillips said he did not, as of yet, have all the details surrounding the Aboriginal man’s death.

“Although the patient was diagnosed as positive for swine flu yesterday, his other medical conditions had dramatically deteriorated by the time he got to Adelaide,” Professor Phillips said.

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