Over 42 000 cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Europe; Belarus reports first case

As of 20 August 2009, 47 of the 53 Member States in the WHO European Region had reported over 42 000 laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection. Belarus reported its first laboratory-confirmed case of the virus on 20 August 2009. To date, there have been 90 deaths in 9 countries in the Region: Belgium, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Malta, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

An increasing number of countries in the Region have switched from laboratory testing all possible cases of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection to monitoring by testing a selection of possible cases. The WHO/Europe weekly influenza surveillance report provides data on influenza activity by country.