PRISTINA, Kosovo
A woman has died of swine flu in Kosovo, health officials have confirmed.
Health officials from the Department of Infectious Diseases said on Monday the 57-year-old had complained of shortness of breath and symptoms similar to classic flu three days before she died of the illness on Sunday.
She had been diagnosed as suffering from virus H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, at the University Clinical Centre in Kosovo capital of Pristina.
A further 20 patients with similar symptoms are being monitored at the hospital.
Three people were diagnosed as having contracted the H1N1 virus during the last year out of 7,204 who were tested, according to the National Institute for Public Health in Kosovo.
Transmission of swine influenza virus, which is endemic in pigs, is uncommon and does not always lead to human flu.
Symptoms of the human form of the illness - zoonotic swine flu - are similar to flu symptoms and included fever, chills, sore throat, headache, coughing and muscle pains.
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