A man who has died at Princess Margaret Hospital was confirmed to have had the human swine flu virus, the Hospital Authority announced today.

The case has been reported to the Centre for Health Protection and referred to the Coroner.

The 58-year-old man, with chronic heart disease, sought treatment for fever, cough and shortness of breath from the hospital at around 10.30pm on July 30. Preliminary X-ray examination showed he had a chest infection and he was admitted to the medical ward.

During his stay at the hospital, he was in critical condition and put on oxygen to assist breathing. He was given antibiotics and a respiratory sample was taken for a flu test.

His condition deteriorated yesterday afternoon and he eventually died at 3.54pm. The lab test confirmed last night that he had the human swine flu virus.