A total of seventeen people have died as a result of swine flu infection in Georgia this season, Amiran Gamkrelidze, Head of the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) of Georgia, said on January 15.

Amiran Gamkrelidze said flu illness figure per 100,000 persons stands at 253 cases, which is the decreased number compared to the previous weeks.

According to him, the influence-related hospitalization decreased to 31%, which is 10% less compared to the cases reported in the last week of December.

“The hospitalization rate in children decreased from 46% to 26%. For more than a week, five health care facilities are working in a round-the-clock regime [in Tbilisi], primary health care facilities in Kutaisi and Batumi increased their working hours,” Amiran Gamkrelidze said.

According to him, Adjara, Guria and Imereti regions are most affected regions. Amiran Gamkrelidze asserts that there are enough supplies of antiviral drugs for flu treatment.