Dead Turkish patient not swine flu victim-hospital

A person died in a hospital in the southern province of Antalya early Monday morning and initial reports had suggested a suspected case of swine flu as the cause, creating a short-lived panic.

Hospital officials said the patient did not have the virus, denying reports the patient had died from swine flu.

The head of the hospital, Ibrahim Demir, said the patient may have died from heart related problems, ruling out the possibility of the virus as being the cause of the death.

"He was a young patient. I am saying - based on our experience - that the causes of such deaths are most probably related to heart problems," Demir told reporters.

"There are no cases of swine flu in our clinic," he added.

There have been no confirmed cases in Turkey of the illness, which has brought much of public life in Mexico to a standstill.

But new cases of the H1N1 virus, which mixes swine, avian and human flu strains, are still appearing across the world, keeping alive fears of a possible pandemic.

An autopsy has been recommended, the patient’s doctor, Dr Dilar Inan said, adding that the patient has never traveled abroad.

As a precaution, the hospital quarantined the ward where the patient had been receiving treatment, news agencies reported Monday.