Just days after Iranian health minister Hassan Ghazizadeh Hashemi said, “The first phase of the swine flu disease in the country is under control”, new information published today shows the death toll from H1N1 influenza in Iran has increased by 15 cases.

flu virus
Generic influenza virion
Image/CDC

The number of “swine flu” cases has reached 900 and 57 fatalities have been reported, mostly in southeastern Iran, in the past month.

According to the World Health Organization, the influenza viruses are classified into types A, B and C on the basis of their core proteins. Only types A and B cause human disease of any concern.

H1N1 is a flu virus. When it was first detected in 2009, it was called “swine flu” because the virus was similar to those found in pigs.

The H1N1 virus is currently a seasonal flu virus found in humans.

The symptoms and transmissability of H1N1 influenza are the same as seasonal flu.

Influenza A (H1N1) is characterized by higher fatality rates among healthy young adults and higher incidence of viral pneumonia.