Updated on Friday, July 03, 2009, 21:38 IST

New Delhi/Kochi, July 02: An NRI suspected to suffering from swine flu died in Kerala as four new cases were reported across the country, taking the total number of such cases to 120 on Thursday.

The 52-year-old NRI, who was suspected to have contracted swine flu, died shortly after he was admitted to a hospital in Kerala's Kollam district last night, Health officials said.

The throat swabs of Stanley Pelis, who arrived in Kerala two weeks ago from the UK, have been sent to the National Institute of Communicable diseases, New Delhi. If confirmed, he would be the first victim of the flu in the country.

Pelis, hailing from Kollam, was admitted to Holy Cross Hospital at Kottayam with high fever and breathlessness at around 7 pm last night and died after two hours, Dr K Shylaja, Medical Director, said.

The four new cases are reported from Gurgaon, Bangalore, Pune and Cochin.

The case in Gurgaon is of a six-year-old girl who travelled from Houston, USA to Delhi via Chicago. She reported symptoms of fever, running nose and vomiting.

The case in Bangalore is that of a four-year-old girl who travelled from USA via Singapore by on June 30. She showed symptoms of fever and cough admitted to the isolation health facility.

Bureau Report