Iran reports its first H1N1 flu death: state radio

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said Wednesday a woman had died of the H1N1 virus in a northwestern region, the Islamic Republic's first fatality from the new flu strain, state radio said.

"Unfortunately a woman from Maragheh (in East Azerbaijan province) died of the flu because she also suffered from chronic respiratory problems," Deputy Health Minister Hassan Emami Razavi said, without giving further details.

He also said a 12-year-old boy with the flu was in a "bad condition" in a Tehran hospital.

Another Health Ministry official said 285 people in Iran had been diagnosed with the flu.

The H1N1 swine flu virus was first seen in March in Mexico and California. Experts say at least 1 million people have been infected in the United States alone.

(Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Hossein Jaseb; Editing by Jon Hemming)