SANTIAGO - A 56-YEAR-OLD man who died last week has been diagnosed as Chile's second swine flu death, health authorities said on Sunday.
The man, who died overnight Tuesday to Wednesday in a hospital in the southern city of Osorno, suffered from obesity and heart disease.
A test confirming the presence of the A(H1N1) virus 'was positive', regional health secretary Bernardo Martorell told AFP. 'The family and the public were informed today.'
The second swine flu death in Chile followed that of a 37-year-old worker who died in Puerto Montt on Monday of a major respiratory collapse within 24 hours of being admitted to a local hospital.
As of Saturday, 890 cases of swine flu have been detected in Chile since the virus first emerged in Mexico in late April.
The epidemic has spread to nearly 22,000 people around the world, claiming the lives of 125 people, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) tally.
Deaths have been reported in five other countries besides Chile - Mexico, the United States, Canada, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. -- AFP
