Swine flu update: Week 50

Yesterday the Ministry of Health said that the swine flu has killed 163 people. In Campania the regional authority has recorded 45 deaths, in Puglia 25, in Lombardia e Calabria 12 each. In the South of Italy the fatal cases are 90, more than half of the national cases. Maybe there's a different kind of recording or updating the data, but it's really strange such a large number.
Until now the Ministry has recorded 811 hospitalized cases, which required respiratory aids in 439 cases. All the cases are 3,794,000. All over Italy the pandemic has already peaked, the total incidence is 0,22%. Only in Sardinia, where the incidence is above 1%, there's still some flu activity. The update has received almost no  coverage by the newspapers.

More swine flu deaths in the souths

What happens in South Italy? Yesterday the Ministry of Health updated the swine flu report. The number of deaths has risen to 137. A total of 67 people have died in the regions of South Italy: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, and Puglia. The virus has killed 30 people in Campania, 18 in Puglia, and 13 in Calabria. So, the 55% of swine flu deaths has occurred in the south, where live only the 25% of the Italians. According to the Ministry, the national update depends on the speed of the regional updates, so maybe there's a difference in the regional reporting. Or maybe something really happened in South Italy. By the way, the Italian news media are still covering the issue, even though there are fewer articles.

Flu toll above 100

The swine flu has came to its maximum in Italy, but the deaths are still increasing. The Ministry of Health has said that the deaths are 101 (27 in the Campania region). It said also that 494,915 people has been vaccinated, out of 5,030,851 available doses. More than 131,000 health care workers have been vaccinated, more or less 13%. Italian mass media have covered about a two years old  child who died in Lecce, Puglia region. Apparently, the child was healthy, before becoming infected.

24 million doses of vaccine

The vaccination campaign against H1N1 virus has started. In some places it's just at the beginning, while in others it has already moved on the second stage. In Liguria the newspaper Il Secolo XIX explains that next Monday in Genoa doctors and other health workers will be vaccinated. Lombardia region is already at phase two of the process, so they will call pregnant women and people under 65 affected by chronic diseases.

Emilia-Romagna region is still completing stage one. Tuscany is operating at the second stage, while carrying out stage one, as Asca press agency reports. Abruzzo region doesn't seem to have received the vaccine against the pandemic flu.

In South Italy Puglia will start the campaign on Monday, first health personnel and pregnant women. The island of Sardinia too has to begin stage one

So, the campaign is on, but it has been carried on speedily in some regions and sluggishly in other parts of the country.

According to Agi press agency, the Minister has distributed one million doses of the pandemic vaccine. To vaccinate the health workers and other essential workers it expect to use 8 millions doses. At the end of the campaign it will distributed 24 million doses.