Romania Libera, 15 January 2010

Swine-flu panic highly contagious

Published on 15 January 2010 at 12:25
Romania Libera, 15 January 2010

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Authorities in France may have announced the end of the Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic, but in Romania controversy over the virus is very much in the headlines, reports România Liberă. After an initial period of several weeks during which it remained largely indifferent to the threat of an epidemic, the Romanian population has now been seized by panic that has brought chaos to hospitals and vaccination centres. At the same time, general practitioners in the country are encouraging people to eat "plenty of foods which build up the immune system — spicy sausage, garlic, brandy etc." To date, the virus has only claimed 100 lives, however, one of the victims – 37-year-old actor Toni Tecuceanu — was quite well-known: and the number of deaths is comparatively high when compared to some other countries. The newspaper also reports that today "a large number of associations will file complaints against the Secretary of State for Health," who has been criticized for threatening to fire hospital doctors that refuse to get the vaccine, and making the vaccination of children compulsory — a decision, which has enraged parents who are opposed to the programme.

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