China has reported its first death of A/H1N1 influenza on Tuesday, according to a Health Ministry statement on its website.

    An 18-year-old woman in Maizhokunggar County, Lhasa City died of the A/H1N1 virus at about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday at the county hospital. She was taken to the hospital on Saturday for coughing, sore throat and muscular stiffness, a Tibetan regional health department official said Tuesday.

    The case has been confirmed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, he said.

    The Health Ministry sent 200,000 doses of vaccine to Lhasa by air on Tuesday to help contain the virus from spreading in the region. More vaccines will be sent to the western and plateau provinces soon.

    The Chinese mainland had reported 21,453 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 influenza by Tuesday, about 78.7 percent of which had recovered, according to a notice on the website of the Ministry of Health.

    A total of 13 cases with heavy symptoms had been reported, of whom eight has recovered, the notice showed.

    The ministry held a tele-conference on Tuesday, asking the local health authorities to strengthen the monitoring and control of the virus outbreak, especially in the remote and border areas.