The Chilean government decided on Wednesday to reinforce nationwide sanitary measures after the country reported its first death from the A/H1N1 flu on Tuesday.

The government will reinforce medical staff training and hand out clinic guides to emergency service officers, Health Minister Alvaro Erazo said after a meeting with health authorities and experts.

Patients over five years old and with a fever over 38 degrees, cough, muscles pain or headache could receive antiviral treatment without a clinic analysis, Erazo said.

Meanwhile, the minister said a team of epidemiologists will travel on Thursday to Puerto Monto, southern Chile, where the country reported its first death case due to the flu.

"We are going to make a detailed analysis of what is going on in that city to see to it that some additional measures are implemented," Erazo said.

"Ninety-eight percent of the flu cases in our country are not severe," said Erazo. However, "the health system must be ready to face the (severe) cases that need timely treatment and to guarantee the largest amount of technical and professional resources."

Erazo also called on people to pay more attention to the flu control and prevention advice.

Chile's health ministry has so far reported a total of 369 cases of A/H1N1 infections. But Carlos Perez, an infectologist from the Catolica University of Chile, said there could be around 4,000 people infected by the virus in the country.

Each confirmed flu case in Chile could involve 10 other infected persons, Perez said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Chile is the fifth country in the world that registers deaths due to the A/H1N1virus.

Chile is also the fifth country with the largest number of confirmed cases.

The WHO keeps the alert level at 5 out of 6. However, its Vice Director Keiji Fukuda said on Tuesday that the "phase 6 is near."

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2009)