A woman in the south of the country has become the tenth person to die of swine flu in the State.
The adult woman had an underlying medical condition, the Department of Health has confirmed. No further details were forthcoming.
Mary Harney TD, Minister for Health and Children, the Department of Health & Children and the Health Service Executive offered their sympathy to the family and friends of the latest person to die of the H1N1 virus.
The latest fatality comes after it emerged last week that rates of swine flu infection have almost doubled in Ireland.
The HSE confirmed last week that infection rates had reached 158.8 cases per 100,000 of the population, higher than has ever been seen during the height of seasonal flu epidemics in Ireland.
Four people died from the virus last week as the roll-out of a vaccine began. Two women from the east, a man from the south and a teenager in the east of the country were the latest to die.
About 1,800 GPs who have agreed to vaccinate at-risk groups aged six months to 65 years were due to receive the vaccine from the HSE by yesterday.
Pregnant women are four times more likely to develop serious complications if they got swine flu. Those who are pregnant and people with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes have been urged to get the vaccine.
A number of hospitals, including Temple Street and Crumlin children's hospitals, have cancelled elective surgery to deal with an increased swine flu workload.
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