The Health Minister expects vaccinations against the virus to start towards the beginning of November

An 86 year old woman who died in Zamora on Wednesday night has become Castilla y León’s first victim of the A(H1N1) virus and the seventeenth to die in Spain. It’s understood she was at risk from A flu complications, but the exact nature of her health problems has not been disclosed to the press at the wishes of the family.

More than half of healthcare workers surveyed in Hong Kong said they would refuse to be vaccinated against swine flu, according to a study released Wednesday.

Fear of side effects and doubts as to efficacy were the two main reasons cited, said the study, published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The Hong Kong survey echoes a recent sounding of 1,500 nurses in Britain, 30 percent of whom also said they would not allow themselves to be jabbed.

Millions of children will go back to school across Europe over the next few weeks despite fears that their return could help spark a second wave of swine flu infections.

In Britain, the European country worst hit by the virus, respected medical journal The Lancet recommended that schools remain shut after the summer holidays to stop the virus spreading as colder weather sets in.

The death confirmed in Madrid on Monday comes after three patients died in Andalucía this weekend

A sixteenth person has fallen victim to the Swine Flu virus in Spain, in news confirmed by the Madrid Region’s health department on Monday morning. The department has respected the family’s wishes, and has released no details on the patient’s sex or identity or even the hospital where the death took place.

All three patients died in Andalucía this weekend, and are the first fatal cases in the region

There have been three more deaths this weekend from the H1N1 virus, all of them taking place in Andalucía. They are the first deaths in the region from the ‘A’ flu.

It brings the total deaths in Spain to date up to 15.

An 11-year-old boy has become the first child to die of swine flu in Spain, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the disease in the country to 12, the health ministry said Monday.

The boy died on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands of the A(H1N1) virus, the ministry said.

On 30 June, a 20-year-old Moroccan woman who was seven months pregnant became the first person to die of swine flu in Spain.

The country’s eleventh victim is a 31 year old pregnant woman who died in Castellón

The health authorities in Valencia have confirmed the region’s fourth victim of the A(H1N1) virus, and the eleventh person to have died in Spain.

She is reported to be a 31 year old pregnant woman who died in the Intensive Care Unit of Castellón General Hospital on Friday after falling into a deep coma on Wednesday, and after being transferred there from another hospital in the city.

A 30 year old man died in hospital on Gran Canaria this Wednesday, the second death in Spain this week

A tenth person has fallen victim in Spain to the A(H1N1) virus, as confirmed by health authorities on the Canary Islands this Wednesday.

The regional government’s health department said the patient, a 30 year old man, died this Wednesday 12th July from complications related to the new flu, adding that he was in a group considered as vulnerable to the virus.

The 28 year old woman died in hospital in Valencia this Monday

A 28 year old patient in Valencia became Spain’s ninth victim of the A(H1N1) virus when she died this Monday in the city’s Hospital 9 de Octubre.

The Health Ministry has given no further details of the patient’s name and condition, but it is known that a woman of that age has been in a serious condition in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit since at least 20th July and was confirmed as having the virus.

Traditional British pragmatism appears to prevail among expatriates in the face of swine flu if sales of medical insurance plans are any guide.

Even in the southern hemisphere, where conditions for the virus spreading are currently “better” than Europe and Asia, providers report no great leap in demand for their products.

Some drug manufacturers may have benefited, but sales graphs of international medical cover plans continue their pattern of a gentle rise

The victim is believed to have suffered from an underlying medical condition.

She died in Tallaght Hospital in south Dublin.

Department of Health officials said the woman was the first person in the country to die from the H1N1 virus since the cases started to emerge in May.

Up to now, 27 people in Ireland have been admitted to hospital with the virus.

Swine flu is spreading all over the world and showing no signs of stopping. It has now turned into a gamble to fly to many of the countries that usually make popular holiday destinations.

Phase six of the pandemic alert was announced on the 11 June by the World Health Organisation, meaning the risk of being infected is still high around the world but the virus has become no more dangerous for the health.

The 35 year old woman had an underlying health condition and was admitted to hospital on Sunday

A 35 year old woman who died from acute respiratory problems this Tuesday has become Spain’s eighth victim of the A(H1N1) virus and the first to have succumbed to the new flu in Cataluña.

The un-named patient died shortly after 1pm at the Josep Trueta Hospital in Girona, where she was transferred on Sunday after being seen by doctors at the hospital in Blanes.

The General Nursing Council report on the death of baby Rayan meanwhile says the nurse who cared for him was not properly trained

A patient admitted to hospital in Albacete two and a half weeks ago has become Spain’s seventh victim of the A(H1N1) virus. It’s understood the 34 year old man suffered an underlying health condition, and was admitted to the General Hospital in Villarrobledo with respiratory problems compatible with the new virus. He remained in a serious condition until his death this Wednesday. He is the sixth person to have succumbed to the new flu in Spain this month.

A 53-year-old man has died of swine flu in Spain, the health ministry said Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths from the disease in the country to six.

The man died at an unspecified date “from complications related to the influenza A(H1N1)” virus after being admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital in the eastern town of Alzira, the ministry said in a statement.

Swine flu has swept the globe since its detection in March, now linked to hundreds of deaths, affecting nearly every country and raising concerns over what dangers await as the new virus develops.

The World Health Organisation declared the first influenza pandemic in four decades in June, and the A(H1N1) virus has, in the words of one WHO official, since become “unstoppable.”

5.4 million additional vaccines are to be made available for risk groups

The Spanish Ministry for Health has said that another 5.4 million vaccines could be purchased against the spread of the A(H1N1) virus.

Minister for Health and Social Policy, Trindad Jiménez, announced the new contingency plans, and noted moves in place against the virus in companies and businesses.

Two people have died and nine patients are in a very serious condition

The latest data from the Health Ministry shows that, as of Friday 10th July, Spain has 1,034 confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus, and two people have now died after being taken ill. The second death was a 41 year old man who died on Thursday afternoon after being admitted to Intensive Care in the Doctor Negrín Hospital on Gran Canaria. He died after complications set in following his admittance on 5th July, and is understood to have had underlying health problems.

The first doses of an H1N1 swine flu vaccine have been produced in Europe – but it will be around two months before any is distributed.

The doses were produced by Novartis at a plant in Marburg, Germany.

The vaccine was made in cell culture, a much faster method than the traditional way of growing it in eggs.

But Novartis said although the vaccine is ready, the first batch will not be used, as it was created using the wild type strain of H1N1.

A 20-year-old Moroccan woman infected with swine flu has died in Madrid, becoming Spain’s first fatality from the virus and the fourth in the EU.

The woman, who suffered from asthma, died of a respiratory illness caused by the flu, Spain’s health ministry said.

She was seven months pregnant when she was admitted to hospital on 15 June. She had an emergency Caesarean section on Monday after her condition worsened.