158 Cases of Swine Flu Reported in Georgia

A total of 158 cases of so-called swine flu have been reported in Georgia, - Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Center for Disease Control, has stated.

He stated that the Ministry of Health has made the decision on so-called Primary Healthcare Protocol and five healthcare facilities in Tbilisi have started working in an emergency regime.

“There are about 162 laboratory-confirmed cases in our country. 158 are - H1N1, while other 4 cases are - H3N2. The b-type virus has also been revealed.

“According to the last week data, there are 256 cases per 100, 000 population, 21% less compared to the previous week. The cases of influenza-associated severe acute respiratory infection hospitalization have also been decreased from 41% to 33%. Gamkrelidze said.

Nine people have died because of H1N1 this winter.

Four pharmacy chains have received an additional supply of anti-flu medicine Tamiflu, totaling 800 packages from the Ministry of Health.

The medicine is also distributed in Georgian regions where there are risks of a medication deficit.

The symptoms of the H1N1 virus are almost the same as the seasonal flu and may involve a cough, fever, sore throat, body and headaches and fatigue.

Georgian Health Minister Davit Sergeenko says there is no risk of a swine flu epidemic in the country.