The Chief Sanitary Inspectorate estimates that several thousand Poles have contracted swine flu.

However, about 80 per cent of cases have never been reported because A/H1N1 virus was not virulent and did not require hospitalization, explains Jan Bondar from the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate. Meanwhile, there have been 1,158 confirmed cases of swine flu in Poland and 24 people are believed to have died from the virus.

According to the Inspectorate, about 30-50 per cent of those who suffered from flu had contracted A/H1N1 virus, which was even milder than a common seasonal flu virus. Bondar pointed out that most of the confirmed deaths were in fact caused by A/H1N1 virus combined with serious diseases, such as cancer, pneumonia or circulatory system dysfunction.

A new machine for diagnosing A/H1N1 virus has been introduced at the sanitary-epidemiological station in the western city of Poznan. The machine, which cost 200,000 zloty (48,400 euro), can test 20 samples a day. Apart from Poznan similar machines operate in Warsaw, Lodz, Gdansk, Katowice and Olsztyn. (mg)