Tom Powell
SWINE flu has claimed five lives in one week in Malaga province, with the latest victim a 54-year-old woman.
She died in the intensive care unit of the Hospital Regional Carlos Haya in Malaga, where six more patients are currently admitted with the virus.
On Thursday the head of the Andalucian Health Service, Jose Luis Gutierrez, resigned with immediate effect.
He had held the post since 2008, although the Health Ministry insist his resignation is not related to the swine flu epidemic.
There are currently 168 people in Andalucia with the AH1N1 virus, known as swine flu, and so far 16 have died.
The Health Service have hired an extra 200 nurses to help distribute flu shots and improve local services.
Swine flu first hit British headlines in the 2009 epidemic, with patients reporting diarrhoea and vomiting.
Other symptoms can include a fever, coughing, sore throat, body aches, headache and fatigue.
