Report: 5 Palestinians died of swine flu since September

A Palestinian schoolboy can be seen wearing a protective mask due to the fear of swine flu in Gaza City [Mohammed AbedAFP/Getty Images]

The Palestinian health ministry said yesterday that five Palestinians have died of swine flu (H1N1 virus) since the beginning of the 2019-2020 flu season in September.

The ministry added in a statement that it had tested 930 people for flu; adding that 70 of them were infected with the H1N1 virus.

This is a drop from the number who died of the illness in the previous flu season, the ministry said.

Seventy others contracted the disease and were being treated for it.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), those most at risk of H1N1 are young children, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems due to chronic medical conditions, and pregnant women.

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