OTSU, Shiga Pref. (Kyodo) A 7-year-old boy in Moriyama, Shiga Prefecture, died Monday of influenza-related brain fever after being infected with swine flu, the prefectural government said Tuesday.
The boy became the youngest, and 18th, fatal victim of the epidemic in Japan, including suspected cases, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.
His case is also the first involving a brain fever associated with the new flu strain.
The boy had previously suffered periodic fever syndrome, but prefectural officials said they have yet to confirm a link between his previous illness and the influenza-related brain fever.
They said the boy came down with a fever Saturday morning and ran a temperature of 40.6 degrees Sunday.
He tested positive for the influenza A virus in abbreviated tests and was admitted to an intensive care unit at a prefectural hospital.
Doctors performed detailed tests that determined the boy had the A/H1N1 strain of influenza.
The previous youngest victim was a 12-year-old boy, who died in Yokohama. He was also the first minor to die of the strain in Japan. He had bronchial asthma.