Israel's Health Ministry on Monday confirmed the nation's first case of death from the A/H1N1 influenza, reported local news service Ynet.

Lab results showed that the A/H1N1 virus caused the death of a 35-year-old resident in the southernmost city of Eilat, the ministry was quoted as saying.

It is the first influenza A/H1N1 death in Israel, where some 1,100 patients had been diagnosed with the virus up to last week.

The Health Ministry also looked into the death of a child in central Israel who showed signs of A/H1N1 flu complications, but test results later ruled the virus out as a cause.

In light of its rapid spread worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) last month raised the A/H1N1 alert to its highest level, formally declaring that it had developed into a global pandemic.

(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2009)