The Centre for Health Protection has suspected human swine flu might have contributed to the death of a 42-year-old Philippine seaman on July 10.

The man flew to Hong Kong from the Philippines on June 28 and left two days later on board a cargo ship. He came down with a fever, cough and chest pain on July 3 and was admitted to Ruttonjee Hospital with pneumonia on July 8. He then had respiratory failure and died.

While earlier tests found community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) in the man's blood sample, the centre last night discovered he also tested positive for the human swine flu virus.

Centre Controller Dr Thomas Tsang said today more laboratory tests and a post-mortem examination will be conducted to find out the cause of the man's death. He did not rule out the possibility of human swine flu being a factor.

He added the man was likely to have been infected outside the city, and a delay in seeking medical attention might have worsened his illness.

There were 85 newly confirmed human swine flu cases today, bringing the total tally to 1,552. Two people are critical while four are in serious condition.

Serious cases
A 23-year-old woman was among the new cases today. She is a university student living in Sha Tin with no travel history. She felt sick on July 8 and saw a private doctor the next day. She was hospitalised at Union Hospital on July 14 and transferred to Prince of Wales Hospital the next day.

Dr Tsang said the serious cases represent about 0.3% of the total tally, which is consistent with overseas findings. One has chronic pulmonary disease, one is grossly overweight and one is a chronic smoker. Some delayed seeking medical treatment.

With these observations, Dr Tsang urged the high-risk groups - such as patients with chronic lung or heart disease or diabetes, and people who are overweight or pregnant - to avoid crowded places and to consult doctors as early as possible if they fall sick.

He noted Hong Kong is in the summer peak flu season, with human swine flu virus at an active stage. The number of seasonal H3N2 cases is also rising fast.