Health Ministry: 360 test positive for swine flu

Health Minister Mehmet Müezzino?lu said on March 21 a total of 360 patients out of more than 4,300 samples have tested positive for swine flu, also known as H1N1.

"A total of 360 patients tested positive for H1N1," said Müezzino?lu, adding the ministry has been closely monitoring developments regarding the virus.

Müezzino?lu said there were some other factors in the deaths of those who were alleged to have died of swine flu in the country, such as lung and kidney failure and some chronic diseases.

"The ministry has been taking all kinds of measures and there is no need for an extraordinary panic," Müezzino?lu said.

The minister's remarks came a day after samples from a 51-year-old woman, who had died in the eastern province of Erzincan on March 16, tested positive for the swine flu virus.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Undersecretary Prof. Dr. Eyüp Gümü? had announced on March 17 that a total of 16 people out of 170 known cases died from swine flu in 2014 and 2015, predicting that the flu season would be over by the end of March. Gümü? had also expressed that the ministry would increase its precautions.