Two more people lost their lives in the past 24 hours from the H1N1 flu virus, raising the death toll in Greece to 44.
At the same time, 106 people are in serious condition in intensive care units throughout the country.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Center (KEELPNO), the extremely low vaccination rate in the population, especially in the two high-risk categories of the chronically ill and health professionals, combined with huge shortages in beds in intensive care units, have turned the flu from seasonal infectious disease to a major threat to public health.
According to KEELPNO, seven percent of the flu victims are children. Specifically, out of 204 patients who had been treated at intensive care units, 14 of them were children. A healthy 4-year-old lost his life recently, causing alarm among health professionals. KEEPLNO says that the percentage of children is much larger than previous epidemics.
The H1N1 influenza virus strain is also aggressive to the 30-55 age group. According to KEELPNO, more than half of the victims in intensive care are otherwise healthy adults.
A strong influenza H1N1 virus strain had appeared in 2009 and along with the chronically ill it had affected young and healthy individuals.
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