South Africa has confirmed its first death from swine flu, believed to be the first documented fatality from the virus in sub-Saharan Africa.
Health officials said a 22-year-old student had died on 28 July, and tests had confirmed the cause of death as the H1N1 influenza virus.
The country has had at least 150 confirmed swine flu cases - easily the highest rate in sub-Saharan Africa.
The illness has caused hundreds of deaths in North and South America.
Dozens more have died in Asia and Europe.
Africa was the last continent to be hit by the virus and has so far escaped relatively lightly.
South Africa confirmed its first case of the disease on 18 June and according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has had 151 cases in total.
The health ministry called the student's death "unfortunate and deeply regretted".
A statement from the ministry said he had been ill for about a week before going to a Western Cape hospital, where he was treated with antibiotics for pneumonia.
He died two days later.
The ministry's statement added: "We are encouraged by the fact that the majority of cases in South Africa have so far been mild and we hope that this will remain so despite this unfortunate death."




http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8182051.stm

Very worrying

i hope we safe 4 naija

God please i beg you,dont let this swine flu get to this country cause if it does then all the poor go into extinction.and only the rich one will remain.

Makaveli snipes:

i hope we safe 4 naija

for where. when ur not even safe from ordinary catarh or malaria. if it gets to 9ja, the highest number of fatalities will be there.

lookmangiw:

God please i beg you,dont let this swine flu get to this country cause if it does then all the poor go into extinction.and only the rich one will remain.

Amen

al-qaeda:

for where. when ur not even safe from ordinary catarh or malaria. if it gets to 9ja, the highest number of fatalities will be there.

Everybody don tire for dis country i can see. . . . .

This is disturbing.

Before they discovered their first case of swine flu it means that probably 100s have must have escaped under the radar

BREAKING NEWS: THE SENATE HAS UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED A "SETTLEMENT PACKAGE" FOR SWINE FLU TO STAY AWAY. NEWS REACHING US FROM SWINE FLU HQ REPORTS THAT NEGOTIATIONS ARE UNDERWAY BY THE BOARD OF SWINE FLU INCORPORATED THAT THE DEAL MIGHT BE STRUCK AS SOON AS WEDNESDAY 5TH AUGUST, 2009. PLS STAY TUNED TO THIS DEVELOPING STORY.

O boy casala don burst, I even planned going to south Africa ending of this month. Hey! Am finished.

Make God help us

Dongoody:

O boy casala don burst, I even planned going to south Africa ending of this month. Hey! Am finished.

Make u go if u wan go. Swine flu even dey nija sef just that the bleeped up health system no go fit detect thier first case until after christmas

The Ministry of health should take pro active steps to make sure it doesn't det to Nigeria

manmustwac:

Make u go if u wan go. Swine flu even dey nija sef just that the bleeped up health system no go fit detect thier first case until after christmas

scary

i'm pretty sure its already here. WHO has stopped tallying the cases because they are too many. a month or so ago, everyone in my house came down with some form of the flu - my sis was telling me it was prolly swine flu . . .

dis is quite alarming

i just pray it wont get here

Why does every sickness start from Africa.

mama-g:

Why does every sickness start from Africa.

or in this case end in Africa xpecially the heart beat of Africa wey don already suffer from cadiac arrest.

we just pray they just discover before it kpafuka people for here.

lookmangiw:

God please i beg you,dont let this swine flu get to this country cause if it does then all the poor go into extinction.and only the rich one will remain.

yeah cos even if the vaccine was available, not every one would be able to afford it, . . . .

africa is a muslim continent, so what if a muslim catch the swine flu

pleas who has a concrete idea of the etiology of this epidemic??*doc's*

is it from eating pork or from being around them, cos whenever i go to benin,porto-novo or togo. i come acroos alot of pigs loitering their environs.

_{*am scared outta my jeans. left wid only boxers*}

xoxoxo:

africa is a muslim continent, so what if a muslim catch the swine flu

meaning that it is only the boko haram i mean the muslims that spread/contact the flu

^^ewwww


chai, it will finsh us o

You guys don't know anything. Swine flu is already killing people in Nigeria.
What do you think killed that Bauchi militant guy. Na propaganda ooh. Boko haram or woteva his name is died of swine flu diease!!!!

I doubt it can kill in this our Nija. With all the agumu, sepe, jedi aale, and monkey wey men dey drink? Mehn he nor fit happen. Thats just for some selected few, in general terms, our atmosphere is too harsh for such an American invented virus to come flourish here. WORD!!!

LouisOlu:

Whoaw Hello everyone I am new in Nairaland.com Forum. I think this is a very bad dvelopment in Africa.We hope that God will protect us. Chiao,

This girl don MAD


@Poster!! Omo na waoooo!!!! Which kain flu be this!! Omo if he enter naija! na die ooo!!

Oluwa mi oooo!!!

wat am i seein in dt pic? swine flu in Africa may God help us oh

One question.
Was the deceased S.african student black?.
Trends show that blacks are relatively immune to the virus fatality-wise.

Also regarding ,the bird-flu saga a while ago; turns out all those  local chicken with swollen/bumpy beaks back in the days had bird-flu but it didnt really kill anyone then.

Blacks tend to be faring better otherwise it will wipe people like HIV in africa

i dont think this flu can kill a naija guy.

It is indeed very disturbing to know that this killer is in Africa. May God help us. We are suffering already in Nigeria.Hope the Federal Government,Governmental and non Governmental agencies, States and Local Governments,Churches, mosques, and the entire people of Nigeria should be on the alert. Government should stock up tamiflu and train also train medical professionals for expedited diagnosis. For prevention they say is better than cure.