Ms Irén Csibei, Director of the hospital, said that the 44-year-old man died on Wednesday, 2 February. She added that the victim died almost immediately after having been admitted to the hospital.

The hospital does not yet know whether the man received a flu vaccination.

Across the county, hospitals are treating three patients with very serious flu-like symptoms. Two of these are intensive care, while one is on a ventilator.

The county government agency reports that for every 100,000 residents in Zala, an average of 463 are ill.  In Nagykanizsa and Zalaegerszeg, local health authorities have seen a rise of more than 80% in those suffering from flu-like infections. In Keszthely, meanwhile, there has been a 40% drop in patients admitted with flu-like symptoms. One school and one kindergarden has been affected.

The symptoms of the disease appear more readily in children. Half of the patients under 14 years old, 38% are young adults aged 15-34, while 12.5% are aged between 35 and 59. The proportion of those over the age of 60 years is below 3%.

Because of the flu in Nagykanizsa, the Kanizsai Dorothy Hospital instituted a partial ban on 4 February 4 for visitors to the intensive care unit, obstetrics and gynecology wards, as well as other areas where newborn, infants and children could be affected.

Last week, the National Epidemiology Center (NEC) published data indicating that by the end of January, nine had died from influenza-related illnesses in the country since the start of the year.

Last Friday, a 74-year-old woman died in Szombathely in the Markusovszky Hospital intensive care unit. Only the postmortem revealed the H1N1 influenza virus as the cause.

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