Southeastern Iran has in recent days witnessed an outbreak of H1N1 flu, which according to the Chancellor of Kerman University of Medical Sciences Ali Akbar Haqdoust, has so far killed at least 28 people only in Kerman.
On Monday, all schools in Kerman province were shut down for two days in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease, media reports quoted officials as saying.
A team of experts has been reportedly dispatched by the Iranian health ministry to Kerman to probe into the situation there, and take necessary measures to prevent the epidemic from spreading.
Kerman’s representative in the Iranian parliament Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi on Monday said the situation in the province is worrying.
Iranian Health Minister Seyed Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi earlier on Sunday said that the flu (which is a subtype of Influenza A) is a common disease, but it is getting stronger each year it breaks out in Iran.
No one dies of H1N1 unless he or she suffers from other diseases at the same time, he stated.
He also urged people to observe hygiene regulations and standards, and visit a doctor immediately after they see symptoms of such a disease.
Influenza A (H1N1) virus is the subtype of influenza A virus that was the most common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009, and is associated with the 1918 outbreak known as the Spanish Flu.
Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza. Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza).
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