Myanmar swine flu toll reaches 12

The death toll from swine flu in Myanmar has risen to 12 with over 200 persons still hospitalised due to respiratory problems, state-media reported on Tuesday.

The Health Ministry confirmed on Monday the death of two other patients admitted to a children's hospital in Yangon city, Efe news quoted the Global New Light of Myanmar daily as saying.

Health authorities said that 210 other people had to be hospitalised due to respiratory problems, 62 of whom were confirmed to have contracted the disease.

The ministry also sent a report on the situation of the outbreak to the World Health Organisation (WHO) last week, and asked for assistance in containing the virus and supplying vaccines, medicines and equipment.

Authorities called on citizens to follow precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, which include avoiding large crowds, regularly washing hands and consulting doctors after noticing influenza-like symptoms that do not subside in two days.

Myanmar has not experienced any swine flu outbreaks since the 2009 global pandemic, during which dozens of people were infected in the country.

Last week, authorities also reported an outbreak of the H7N9 virus, also known as bird flu, detected in June in the city of Dawei.

--IANS

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