Italy: Eleven plane passengers catch swine flu, one dies

The trip to Nepal turned into a nightmare for 11 Italian tourists, reports the Italian news agency Ansa . They were part of a group of 16 travelers from different Italian cities and had all boarded a long-haul flight to Kathmandu on August 10.

Upon arrival in Nepal, the first passenger complained of flu-like symptoms. Then nine others, and then an 11th, who ultimately died of swine flu.

Hospitalized in intensive care

In total, eight travelers were hospitalized. The last, a 57-year-old Sicilian tourist who fell ill after his wife, was transported by helicopter on August 17 to a hospital in Kathmandu, where he was admitted to intensive care with a fever of 41.5°C. He died 16 days later.

Doctors concluded that all of them, during the more than 10-hour flight, had contracted swine flu, an acute respiratory illness that is common in pigs but rarely transmitted to humans.