Wiltshire's joint director of public health has urged people not to panic following the death of a woman who had swine flu.

The woman, who is believed to have been 51 and from Malmesbury, died at the Great Western Hospital, Swindon, on Wednesday night.

Investigations are to be carried out to identify if the patient had any underlying health conditions and to determine the exact cause of death.

Mrs Rae said: "We offer our sincere condolences to the family at this sad time and will remain in touch with them through their family doctor to keep them informed and to provide all the support we can.

"I want to assure people that a death from swine flu is a very, very rare occurrence.

"In the vast majority of cases swine flu is not a severe illness and people start to feel better without visiting hospital or their GP."

Mrs Rae said on average 60 people in Wiltshire die from seasonal flu each year.

She also encouraged parents to send their children to school despite cases of swine flu among pupils and teachers at schools across the county.

She said: "School is one of the safest places for children to go. We are monitoring cases of swine flu on a case by case basis."

NHS Wiltshire set up an incident room to co-ordinate activity in response to swine flu at its headquarters in Southgate House, Devizes, in April and continues to operate.

Mrs Rae urged people who thought they had swine flu not to go into their GP surgery or hospital but to call their GP surgery or the national Swine Flu Information Line on 0800 1513 513.

Symptoms can be checked online at the web site www.nhs.uk