A Venezuelan baby girl has died from the A/H1N1 flu and it is the first such death in the country, Health Minister Jesus Mantilla told state broadcaster VTV Sunday.

The 11-month-old baby girl died Saturday and the authorities were conducting a thorough investigation into the death as the girl had neither any close relatives being infected with the epidemic nor any contact with foreigners, Mantilla said.

So far, Venezuela has reported 281 confirmed cases of the flu, 236 of whom have completely recovered, while 45 are either treated at hospital or quarantined at home.

The first case of the disease in the country was reported on May 28.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2009)