MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s health minister said Wednesday that the AH1N1 flu virus has claimed its first fatality in the country, a 30-year-old woman from the northern province of Matagalpa who had recently given birth.

Guillermo Gonzalez said the woman began showing symptoms of swine flu after undergoing a caesarian operation at a hospital in Managua and was immediately placed in an intensive care unit.

The patient was administered the appropriate anti-viral medication but she began to suffer pneumonia complications and died in spite of the extreme measures taken to treat her, the minister said.

The woman’s newborn baby survived and is being treated by specialists.

“Let us take this opportunity to reiterate, without creating alarm, that it’s important that people with risk factors (for swine flu) take all appropriate measures,” the minister said.

According to the latest Health Ministry report, the number of swine-flu cases in Nicaragua has risen to 543, of whom 504 have already been released from care and are in good condition.

More than 70 percent of the people affected are under the age of 20.

The AH1N1 virus has claimed nearly 1,500 lives around the globe since the outbreak began in April, according to the latest bulletin from the World Health Organization. EFE