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PRAGUE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Czech State Health Institute (SZU) said in its report on Monday that nine people died of flu in the country between Dec. 21 and Jan. 6, and the health ministry had banned the export of the Tamiflu anti-flu medicine in response.
A total of 35 serious flu cases were registered in the country since the beginning of the holiday season until Jan. 6, most of which involved patients over age 60. Many hospitals and elderly people's homes across the country have banned visits. Experts said the country had been hit by a flu epidemic.
As a result, the Czech health ministry banned the export of Tamiflu anti-flu medicine. Stocks of Tamiflu are sufficient, but exports and sales abroad could limit the accessibility of the drug in the country.
Czech Health Minister Miloslav Ludvik said the country was facing a nationwide flu epidemic and that it would be irresponsible to permit further exports of the anti-viral drug that serves to treat both children and adults.
The number of people with an acute respiratory disease or flu rose to 1,528 per 100,000 inhabitants in the first week of January, which is a 49-percent increase compared with the last week of December 2016.
According to SZU, the increase has been registered in all age groups and all regions. The highest illness rate is in Moravia. Enditem
