Cambodian TV cameraman dies of swine flu

A Cambodian TV cameraman died early Wednesday after contracting the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, confirmed.

"He died at 4:00 a.m. local time, though our doctors had tried all their best to save him," Ly Sovann told Xinhua, adding that the patient's condition became severe because he had also had pneumonia.

"It was the first death from the H1N1 virus since 2010," he said.

Khun No, 30, a cameraman for the Cambodian Television Network (CTN), tested positive with the virus on Saturday and received medical treatment at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh before his death.

Cambodia reported its first swine flu case in June 2009. The disease had infected about 600 people and killed six between 2009 and 2010.

Ly Sovann said in 2012, the World Health Organization announced that the H1N1 virus became a seasonal flu disease and had always been detected in Cambodia.

"We have monitored at 10 health centers across the country and found about 100 H1N1 cases every year, but all cases were mild - no death reported," he said.

The virus spreads from person to person through coughing or sneezing. Its symptoms are similar to those of the seasonal flu, including high fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches, and fatigue. Enditem