An A/H1N1 flu patient died "accidentally" Wednesday in east China's Zhejiang Province, local health authorities said late Wednesday.
The 34-year-old woman was found dead at 7:35 a.m. in her ward lavatory at the No.1 People's Hospital of Xiaoshan District in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, according to the Hangzhou municipal health bureau.
The patient was recovering as her temperature had been normal for a week. She coughed occasionally, but other flu symptoms had disappeared.
She was admitted to the hospital on June 23.
Local police and health authorities are investigating.
This would be China's first death from the A/H1N1 flu if the investigation showed the woman died from the disease.
Liang Wannian, vice director of the emergency office under the Health Ministry, warned Monday that China is "very likely" to have its first death from the A/H1N1 influenza in the foreseeable future, as the number of the flu cases rises in the country.
As the total number of infected people increases, the chances of medical workers and high-risk groups, such as pregnant women and people with chronic diseases, being infected will rise, making serious cases of the A/H1N1 flu or even fatalities "extremely possible," Liang told reporters.
"The possibility of a wide spread of the virus in China in autumn and winter is also becoming more likely," he also warned.
The Chinese mainland confirmed 57 new cases of A/H1N1 influenza from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday, with the total number amounting to 867, the Ministry of Health said.
Beijing confirmed 21 new cases, including seven students in a primary school, and the southern Guangdong Province registered 20.
Among the patients, 523 have been discharged from hospitals, 341 were being treated in hospitals and three patients were receiving medical care at their homes, the ministry said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2009)
