Flu season

Amid a spike in flu cases, the National Organization for Medicine (EOF) said Friday there are enough vaccines available for everyone in Greece who hasn't had a jab yet to get one for this flu season.

EOF said that it has imported 2,100,000 vaccines so far this season.

Montana district is the latest to declare flu epidemic as of 29th of January. Schools cancelled classes until 4th of February, reports BNT. 

Thus, 24 districts out of 28 in total have declared flu epidemic.

Nearly 1,400 schools in the country have been closed because of the flu.

According to Bulgaria's minister of health the flu season will peak this week.

The Bulgarian government on Wednesday adopted a national program for the improvement of seasonal influenza vaccination coverage for the period 2019-2022, the cabinet said here in a statement, reports Xinhua. 

Only about 2% of Bulgarians over the age of 65 have been vaccinated against flu in 2016, according to Eurostat's analysis of Europeans' attitudes to take preventive measures against influenza during the period in question. The average of Europeans in this age bracket who took precautions against the flu was 43%.
 

The intensity level of the epidemic process of influenza and acute respiratory diseases in Bulgaria continues to increase gradually.

This was reported by the Ministry of Health in connection with the season's introduction of influenza. A total of 381,400 individuals from all age groups reported 4,512 cases of acute respiratory disease. 4 071 cases were in the previous week.

Greece comes second behind Slovenia on the list of European Union countries where citizens have a growing amount of confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccinations, a recent report by the European Commission has shown.

The number of measles cases reported to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) is on the rise, with 500 cases recorded over the last month, 60 of which were in the last week. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in May 2017, 2,500 patients have been affected, KEELPNO said.

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.

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