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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

No cases of H1N1 infection in Serbia

Belgrade, 15 May 2009

Minister of Health Tomica Milosavljevic today stated that not a single case of infection of the new group A virus has been registered in Serbia.

Tomica Milosavljevic

Milosavljevic told the press that it is not possible to prevent further spreading of the virus, but Serbia has taken all measures in preparing for a possible outbreak.

According to the Minister we should carefully monitor the spreading of the virus, as it has already become an epidemic.

Milosavljevic pointed out that Serbia is currently at risk, adding that the first wave of the epidemic is expected to appear this summer and the second in autumn or winter.

He noted that the virus is more contagious than a seasonal influenza, so that we can expect it to spread faster, but there is still no need to panic.

He said that the Exit and Guca music festivals and the Universiade are three huge events which will bring a big number of visitors to Serbia and this could present a difficult challenge.

These are summer events, which is not a flu season, however Serbia will seek advice from the WHO, he said.

Predrag Kon

Milosavljevic said that according to the latest WHO statistics 6,300 H1N1 cases have occurred world wide until now, with mortality rates ranging from 0.3% to 0.5%.

The Minister explained that WHO statistics show that the epidemic probably began in February in the town of La Gloria in Veracruz, Mexico, because half of the people in the town fell ill with the disease.

Head of the Health Ministry’s special working group for implementing the plan for preventing and controlling the epidemic Predrag Kon said that it is estimated that the H1N1 influenza A incidence will be from two to six times more than ordinary seasonal flu.

He said that it is too early to form an estimate of the mortality rate because the virus is behaving differently in different parts of the world, adding that it can be said with a high degree of certainty that the mortality rate in Serbia would be higher than in earlier seasonal flu epidemics in the country.