Croatia records first death linked to swine flu

Croatia recorded its first death linked to swine flu on Saturday after a 61-year-old man died at a hospital in the southern city of Split, local media said.

The man was admitted in hospital around 10 days earlier with a lung infection linked to the A(H1N1) virus, the facility's director Dujomir Marasovic was quoted as saying by the Hina news agency.

The man's condition deteriorated with several organ failures, Marasovic said. The cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy, he added.

More than 300 people have contracted A(H1N1) in Croatia since it first emerged in the country in July, according to official figures.

More than 5,700 people have died from swine flu since it broke out in Mexico and the United States in April, according to the World Health Organisation.