Flu pandemic

After the peak of the flu, 120,000 people are currently ill and at least 100 of them have severe respiratory failure. This was stated in Nova TV by Prof. Todor Kantardzhiev from the Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases in "Health Bulgaria".

Five people have died of complications related to the flu in the past two weeks, data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) showed on Thursday, suggesting that the flu season is getting under way.

None had received a flu vaccination, KEELPNO said.

Last year's flu season started in mid-December and was particularly harsh, claiming 108 lives.

There is now a proven case of influenza from the Hong Kong strain - a woman in Rousse. The flu runs very hard, doctors say. Apart from this, many viruses fill the doctors' offices, Nova TV reports

New flu epidemic is expected to occur in Bulgaria by the end of the year, probably in November or December, NOVA informs.

Doctors and medical experts are waiting for the results of a postmortem examination to confirm whether an 8-year-old girl who died in a hospital in the Peloponnese was the latest victim of flu, which has claimed more than 100 lives in Greece since October.

With the increase in temperatures, a new flu wave is expected, warned the director of the National Centre on Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Professor Todor Kantardzhiev. He predicted that the peak of the flu will be in April.

Ten people have died in Greece in the past week due to complications after contracting the flu, bringing the death toll from the virus since the start of this winter to 36, data from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) showed on Thursday.

Istanbul's emergency services were completely full on the night of Jan. 4 due to a flu epidemic, according to Doğan News Agency.

Bad weather conditions reportedly triggered a flu epidemic throughout Turkey, especially in Istanbul, following heavy snowfall in many parts of the country.

The Hellenic Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) on Wednesday issued an announcement noting a spike in recent weeks of cases of gastroenteritis, or stomach flu, in Greece and urged citizens to take basic precautions to avoid contagion.

The Hellenic Center of Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) is urging vulnerable groups of the population, and mainly the elderly, to get vaccinated against potent flu strands expected this winter.