By Park Si-soo
A 30-year-old man died from H1N1 swine flu, Thursday, becoming the nation’s first victim this year from the contagious disease that claimed 270 lives last year in South Korea.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the man tested positive for the H1N1 virus last Tuesday and died Wednesday night in an intensive care unit of a hospital near Seoul.
He showed typical symptoms — fever and muscular pain, the center said. It is investigating to discern how the man got infected. He was confirmed to have not made any overseas trip in recent months.
More than 763,700 people tested positive for H1N1 between April 2009 and August 2010.
The death came at a time when the government has raised the alert for foot-and-mouth disease to its highest level in an orchestrated effort to curb any further spread of the deadly animal disease.