The 2009 flu pandemic was a global outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, first identified in April 2009, termed Pandemic H1N1/09 virus by the World Health Organization (WHO) and colloquially called swine flu. The outbreak was first observed in Mexico, and quickly spread globally. On 11 June 2009, WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic. The overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms", but some persons are in higher risk groups, such as those with asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system. In the rare severe cases, around 3–5 days after symptoms manifest, the person's condition declines quickly, often to the point of respiratory failure.
The virus reached Turkey in May 2009. A U.S. citizen, flying from the United States via Amsterdam was found to have the swine flu after arriving at Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport. Turkey is the 17th country in Europe and the 36th country in the world to report an incident of swine flu.
The Turkish Government has taken measures at the international airports, using thermal imaging cameras to check passengers coming from international destinations.
The first case of person to person transmission within Turkey was announced on 26 July 2009.
On 2 November, the Turkish Health Ministry began administering vaccines against H1N1 influenza, starting with health workers.
After a slow start, the virus spread rapidly in Turkey and the number of cases reached 12,316. First death confirmed on 24 October and death toll reached 627.
Timeline + Reported deaths by provincesProvinceConfirmed deathsTotal627Ankara34Istanbul30Konya24Adana17Diyarbakır10Gaziantep9Kayseri9Şanlıurfa9Van9Bursa7Denizli5Sivas5Tokat5Hatay4Isparta4İzmir4Samsun4Antalya3Elazığ3Kahramanmaraş3Malatya3Batman2Eskişehir2Giresun2Karabük2Kocaeli2Kütahya2Manisa2Mersin2Niğde2Sakarya2Afyon1Aksaray1Amasya1Aydın1Balıkesir1Bingöl1Burdur1Çorum1Düzce1Edirne1Erzincan1Erzurum1Kastamonu1Kırıkkale1Mardin1Ordu1Osmaniye1Siirt1Şırnak1Tekirdağ1Yozgat1
2009–2010Milestones of the flu pandemic in Turkey 16 May First case in Turkey confirmed in Istanbul. 26 July First case of a person to person transmission confirmed. 24 October First death in Turkey confirmed in Ankara. 29 October First death confirmed in Diyarbakır, second overall. First death confirmed in Konya, third overall. 1 November Second death confirmed in Ankara, fourth overall. Second death confirmed in Konya, fifth overall. Third death confirmed in Konya, sixth overall. 2 November Mass vaccinations began. First death confirmed in Şanlıurfa, seventh overall. First death confirmed in Istanbul, eighth overall. Third death confirmed in Ankara, ninth overall. 3 November First death confirmed in Kayseri, tenth overall. Eleventh death of Turkey confirmed. 4 November Three people died in various cities. First death confirmed in Batman, fifteenth overall. 5 November Four people died in various cities. 6 November Two people died in various cities. 7 November Two people died in various cities. 8 November Four people died in various cities. 9 November Three people died in various cities. 10 November Six people died in various cities. 11 November Four people died in various cities. 12–13 November Twenty people died in various cities. 14–16 November Thirteen people died in various cities. 17–19 November Twenty people died in various cities. 20–23 November Twenty people died in various cities. 24–26 November Forty-eight people died in various cities. 25–30 November Thirty-four people died in various cities. 1–3 December Forty-six people died in various cities. 4–7 December Fifty-five people died in various cities. 8–10 December Fifty-seven people died in various cities. 11–14 December Sixty-two people died in various cities. 15–22 December Forty-three people died in various cities. 23–29 December Forty-nine people died in various cities. 30 December–19 January One hundred and twenty people died in various cities.
See also GISAID the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (also covers novel A/H1N1 swine flu)
References
External links
Official status reports H1N1 outbreak status report, at the European CDC Swine influenza updates, at the World Health Organization
Background information WHO's Pandemic Influenza Phases Influenza Research Database – Database of influenza genomic sequences and related information. Medical Encyclopedia Medline Plus: Swine Flu Medical Encyclopedia WebMD: Swine Flu Centre