TBILISI – Amiran Gamkrelidze, the head of the Georgian Health Ministry’s National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, has confirmed the 13th death from the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
According to the media, a 22-year-old woman died in a hospital in Tbilisi on Jan. 9.
Like most other laboratory-confirmed swine flu patients, the woman had a severe illness, Gamkrelidze said.
Ninety-eight percent of the 230 lab-confirmed flu cases in Georgia are currently blamed on H1N1, he said.
He also reported four or five cases of the H3N2 virus (also known as Hong Kong flu) and one case of the B virus.
The Georgian Health Ministry told reporters earlier that there was no flu epidemic. However, the Education Ministry decided to extend the school break until Jan. 18.
According to the media, most of the people who have been killed by swine flu in Georgia were younger than 40.
