Epidemiologists say viroses level is similar to last year

Although respiratory infections already made more than 40 victims in Romania, 80 persons being infected in a single week, epidemiologists from Moldova assert that the number of the registered viroses does not essentially exceed the level of last year. The scientific researcher of the National scientific-practical centre of preventive medicine, Damian Ciobanu, told Info-Prim Neo that in the week between January 15 and 21 the on duty point in Chisinau registered 890 cases of acute viroses or by 75 cases more than in the similar period of 2006, and the one in Balti – 236 compared to 185 in the last year. According to Ciobanu, the increases are insignificant. As the quoted source says, at the moment, none of those 9 on-duty points placed in different zones of Moldova registered cases of influenza. According to specialised foreign websites, epidemics would break out independently of the weather conditions, as the flu is already affecting the northern part of the continent, moving towards Macedonia and Greece. The National Reference Centre for Influenza from Bucharest confirmed the presence of the Wisconsin (H3N2) influenza virus in the samples collected from patients in the counties of Galati, Bihor, Bucharest and Cluj. In Bulgaria nearly 3% of the population has suffered from flu, the central part of the country being the most affected region. Doctors also mention that the influenza season is only at its beginning stage and it will go on till April.