Croatia: Swine Flu Cases Rise to 150

Croatian doctors think that the 150 patients suffering from the H1N1 virus, commonly known as the swine flu, represent only a tenth of the real number of cases. 59,000 individuals were infected with this strain of flu in 2010, and officials worry that this year's epidemic has just begun.

Last week, the Croatian Health Minister told the state-run press agency that a 60-year-old man had died of complications from the swine flu, and urged Croatians to get the vaccine against the virus.

In recent weeks, some 200 people have appeared daily in Zagreb clinics with typical symptoms of influenza, though doctors have advised sick individuals to go to hospital only if complications arise.

Other H1N1 patients have been registered in the southern Croatian city of Split.

More than 20 people died in Croatia last year of complications from the swine flu, which struck both young and healthy individuals and more typically vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and very young.