A 37 year-old man has become the first to die from complications brought on by the swine flu virus in Poland.

The man died of pneumonia in an infectious diseases hospital in Gdansk on the Baltic coast. The tests showed that he was carrying an A/H1N1 virus.

He is the first swine flu death in Poland. So far there are been 234 cases of the infection in this country.

Meanwhile, Poland’s Ombudsman has threatened legal action against the Health Minister for failing to go-ahead with the purchase of swine flu vaccines. In the  Ombudsman’s view, people’s lives and health are endangered as a result. (mk)