Positive tests for the A/H1N1 virus in a 2-year-old boy in Jaroslaw, southern Poland, brings up the swine flu count in Poland.
The boy, the third person in the regional hospital to test positive and be treated for swine flu, remains in hospital for observation and care. In total, just over 185 people in Poland have tested positive for the A/H1N1 virus most commonly known as swine flu.
Meanwhile, the Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Pulawy, near the eastern border, has received 92 additional samples from the Ukraine to test for the A/H1N1 virus. The Institute has been aiding the Ukrainian government in testing suspected cases of swine flu all week since the country declared a swine flu epidemic that has killed over 100 people.
Polish authorities urge society not to panic as the season flu is considered more widespread and potentially more dangerous. Prime Minister Donald Tusk has supported Health Minister Ewa Kopacz's delay of a mass purchase of swine flu vaccines, both claiming that thorough and extensive testing of side effects has not been carried out.
Meanwhile, negotiations with a pharmaceutical company for the purchase of the A/H1N1 vaccine may soon be concluded.
According to deputy health minister Adam Fronczak, the written part of the talks will be completed next week. Fronczak also added that he had been assured by the producer that it will take the responsibility for any possible side effects of the vaccine. The question of who would bear such a responsibility has been one of the reasons behind the delay in purchasing the vaccine by the ministry so far. (mmj)