By Kyaw Ye Lynn

YANGON, Myanmar 

Health authorities in Myanmar on Monday confirmed one person had died due to the H1N1 infection, commonly known as swine flu, near its northwestern border with India.

The Health Department said in a statement that one person had died and 13 patients were tested positive for the virus this month, in poorest Chin state and commercial capital Yangon.

The statement came after an emergency meeting in political capital Nay Pyi Taw on Monday following false news, which went viral late Tuesday, that 16 people had died of swine flu in the country.

Authorities issued a health alert in the country asking people with seasonal fever to stay away from public gatherings, and local hospitals to be prompt in their diagnosis.

The first case of swine flu reported in December 2009 had caused a global pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.

No fatality was reported in Myanmar in 2009 although a total of 66 patients tested positive for H1N1.

The virus originated in pigs, but is transmitted from person to person, through cough, sneeze, and contact with infected surfaces.