Finland : Flu season reaching peak

Via YLE :

" This winter's flu wave is going to hit Finland particularly hard within the next few weeks. According to the National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL), resistance to the currently spreading H3N2 virus is low among the population at the moment.

“There are many cases of infection all around Finland. The flu season has been at its worst for a couple of weeks already and will likely remain like this for some weeks,” forecasts research professor Ilka Julkunen from the THL.

The H3N2 strain first struck Finland three years ago, but it has mutated so that even those who have had it before are not necessarily immune."

Finland : Swine Flu Hit the Young Hardest

Via YLE, the whole report :

" The majority of swine flu sufferers in Finland who required hospital care were youth. According to research published in the Finnish Medical Journal, swine flu was deadlier in younger patients than the regular, seasonal flu.

A total of 44 people died of swine flu in Finland. Nearly all of the victims had a serious, underlying condition. The number of fatalities was slightly higher per capita compared with other Nordic countries.

Laboratory tests confirmed that 7,669 people contracted swine flu. However, the actual number of cases was much higher. The disease peaked in November 2009."