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16. 12. 09. - 16:00

Swine flu infection numbers drop

By Thomas Hochwarter

Up to 34,000 people were infected with swine flu last week, health chiefs have said.

The Health Ministry said today (Weds) its Flu Surveillance System had recorded a slight decrease compared to the week before last when 47,000 Austrians had come down with the virus.

Officials explained 24,000 to 34,000 people had been infected with the A(H1N1) virus last week, of which 172 were hospitalised.

The week before last, 252 swine-flu infected people were hospitalised.

Authorities said the figures showed that the pandemic was continuing in Austria.

Health Ministry officials said Graz saw lower numbers of swine flu patients last week after the city had previously seen figures high above over the national average. Authorities said 2,740 residents in the Styrian capital had contracted the disease last week, down from 3,474 the week before last.

Two people – an 11-year-old Italian girl from South Tyrol, Italy, and a 41-year-old man from Germany - have so far died of swine flu in Austria.

It was meanwhile reported that vaccination centres specially set-up throughout the country had reported significantly fewer people turning up to get vaccinated.

General practitioners are not allowed to vaccinate people since Baxter’s Celvapan vaccine is delivered in doses allowing ten people to get vaccinated.

Social Democratic (SPÖ) Health Minister Alois Stöger set up vaccination centres across the country instead of ordering the vaccine delivered to GPs to avoid expiration of too many of the ten-dose vaccines which can only be used for a few hours before expiring.

Austrian Times

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