2010-08-11 11:20

TAIPEI - A 56-year-old man in southern Taiwan's Tainan city died of the A/H1N1 influenza virus on August 8, just two days before the World Health Organization said the pandemic was over, local media reported Wednesday.

The man, whose name was not given, was hospitalized for a month after he contracted the disease and developed complications due to bacterial infections, the United Daily News reported.

His 24-year-old son had died from serious pneumonia and multiple organ failure caused by A/H1N1 flu on July 19, a day after he was hospitalized.

The father and son were, respectively, the island's 45th and 47th deaths from A/H1N1 influenza, which had killed more than 18,000 people around the world as of last week.

On Tuesday, World Health Organization director-general Margaret Chan said the H1N1 pandemic was over and the global outbreak had been much less severe than it was feared one year ago.

But she warned the virus would continue to circulate with seasonal influenza for years to come, and she urged health authorities to stay vigilant.

According to Taiwan's disease prevention authorities, about 10,000 people in the island are diagnosed with A/H1N1 flu every month.

Most of deaths caused by the virus in Taiwan were young people, the authorities said, urging the public to keep maintain precautions.