Bulgaria Registers 6th Swine Flu Fatality, Epidemic Spreads

A municipal administrator in Bulgaria's Targovishte wears a mask. Targovishte was the first district to declare a swine flu epidemic,

А 53-year-old man has died in a hospital in Sofia as a result of complications of the A(H1N1) virus, bringing Bulgaria’s total swine flu death toll to six.

According to Chief Health Inspector Tencho Tenev, the man had schizophrenia and cirrhosis. He did treat himself at home for a week, when he finally saw a doctor, and was taken to hospital in critical condition.

Three more districts – Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, and Sofia District (the region around the capital city) – have declared swine flu epidemic Friday morning.

Thus, 19 out of Bulgaria’s 28 administrative districts have declared a swine flu epidemic. The Bulgarian capital Sofia (i.e. Sofia City District) is deciding later on Friday whether to declare epidemic.

Bulgaria’s Chief Epidemiologist, Angel Kunchev, has told the BNT that all schools in the country might soon be closed in a swine flu break depending on the number of infected people.

He said that unfortunately there were no A(H1N1) vaccines available in Bulgaria at the moment but said that medications and vaccines would soon be procured from Germany and Sweden.

Young children, doctors, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases will be the priorities group for immunization. Kunchev has called upon all Bulgarians to still get the regular seasonal flu shots. In his words, the only vaccines available in drug stores are Tamiflu and Relenza.

On Thursday, Bulgaria’s Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev announced a little over 100 000 Bulgarians were infected with A(H1N1).

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