SE Bulgarian district declares A/H1N1 flu epidemic

The rising number of people infected with the A/H1N1 flu has prompted authorities in a southeast Bulgarian district to declare an epidemic, local media reported Monday.

The sick rate in the region has risen to 200 per 10,000 people.

In Burgas, the second largest Black Sea port in the Balkan country, the medical alert was to be in effect until Friday, leading to the closure of all schools and the cancellation of all public events. The alert could be extended.

In another southeast district, Yambol, local medical authorities were to decide later Monday whether to declare an all-out epidemic. Yambol has already declared a flu "vacation" for schools until Monday.

The same decision was also due in central Bulgaria's Gabrovo district, which, along with the Varna district, has the largest number of people with the A/H1N1 flu virus. The sick rate in some of the towns there was approaching the level where an epidemic could be declared.

The A/H1N1 flu is spreading quickly in Bulgaria. Several towns have taken measures to fight the virus, including shutting schools and banning all large public meetings.

Bulgaria's northeast region of Targovishte declared a flu epidemic on Friday. The alert there was to last until Nov. 6.

So far, two Bulgarians have died from the virus. Bulgaria's chief state health expert, Tencho Tenev, has said that at least two million Bulgarians, or 30 percent of Bulgaria's population, could become infected with the flu virus over the coming months.

Source: Xinhua