MONTREAL - A FIFTH person has died of swine flu in Canada since the outbreak of the A(H1N1) virus began two months ago, a Canadian health official said on Saturday.

'It was a man in the Montreal region who was under quarantine,' physician Alain Poirier told reporters, adding the man suffered from chronic health problems that weakened his immune system.

Health authorities on Friday reported 540 additional cases of swine flu, bringing the country's total since the start of the outbreak to more than 3,515 cases.

The World Health Organisation this week declared the first influenza pandemic in four decades and warned the further spread of swine flu was 'inevitable.' More than 140 people have died worldwide as a result of the virus. -- AFP