Since the middle of last October, at least 43 people have been hospitalized due to A/H1N1 flu in the Netherlands, local media reported on Friday.
Most cases have been registered in Nijmegen, a city in the east part of the Netherlands. This is probably due to the fact that two children died in December, which caused a higher level of awareness by parents, says a spokeswoman of the hospital in Nijmegen.
The hospitals of Winterswijk Zevenaar, Arnhem, Doetinchem Ede didn't report any patients with flu Thursday, while the AMC hospital in Amsterdam reported four and the UMC Utrecht six cases.
According to Ge Dark, project leader of Nivel, the organization that registers the number of flu cases nationally, there are 5.9 cases per 10,000 inhabitants in the west, compared to 2.1 cases in the eastern part of the Netherlands. "But it is in its normal annual flu gradient."
Pharmacists organization KNMP warned people with flu symptoms not to purchase medication such as Tamiflu over the Internet because of the poor quality and high prices. But there should be no fear for a pandemic crisis.