A young person has become the ninth Irish person with swine flu to die

A young person with swine flu has become the latest Irish victim of the H1N1 pandemic, taking the country's death toll to nine, it has been announced.

The Department of Health and Children said the youth, who was in the east of the country, had an underlying medical condition.

A spokesman said health chiefs would not be releasing the sex or age of the youth to respect the wishes of the family.

Irish Health Minister Mary Harney and officials have offered their sympathy to the family and friends of the patient, he added.

Nine people with swine flu have died in the Republic so far - five in the last week - with another 14 patients stricken with the virus currently fighting for their lives in intensive care units.

Health chiefs have also disclosed that rates of flu-like sickness have soared to 158.8 per 100,000 of the population from 97.1 per 100,000 last week.

Pregnant women were earlier urged to protect themselves and their unborn child by getting vaccinated against swine flu.

Senior medics also moved to quell fears over the vaccination, saying it would be more dangerous for expectant mothers to catch the deadly H1N1 virus than suffer any side effect.

Pregnant women are four times more likely to develop serious complications or be admitted to hospital if they contract the virus, particularly after 14 weeks, members of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists warned.

Dr Michael O'Connell, consultant obstetrician at the Coombe, said suffering high temperatures could result in early labour, severe pneumonia and even cause problems to the baby after birth.