10 people die of H1N1 in Iraq

Ten people died of contagious H1N1 flu in Iraq out of 359 detected cases, a medical official said on Tuesday. "We have 359 cases registered as infected with the swine flu in Iraq, ten of them have died," Sattar al-Saidy, deputy minister of health told reporters. Saidy confirmed that the situation is under control and the ministry of health provides all necessary medicines and vaccines. "The Central Laboratory of Public Health in Baghdad is working 24 hours a day to analyze samples taken from suspected cases," Saidy said, adding that all the hospitals across the country have set up separate wards to receive suspected cases of H1N1 flu. H1N1 influenza is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease with symptoms generally including upper respiratory problems, but the airborne illness can cause severe pneumonia and even death.