RAMALLAH – The Palestinian Ministry of Health Sunday said that two Palestinians have died of swine flu in the West Bank, bringing the number of the virus' victims to 14 since the start of this winter. Tarif Ashour, a spokesman for the ministry, said that the two, a woman and a child, died of the virus' complications in the Nablus Governorate. Ashour added that 365 people have been diagnosed with swine flu in West Bank governorates, compared to 281 people in last week. The spokesman said that more than two-thirds of them had recovered and were discharged from Palestinian hospitals. He added that the 14 cases were from the groups that need special care from the Palestinian medical system. According to the official, pregnant women, young children and the elderly at higher risk to suffer from the virus' complications. As'ad al-Ramlawi, Director-General of the Healthcare Department of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, urged the Palestinians to follow the directions of his ministry “to limit the spread of the virus.” Al-Ramlawi added that his ministry's crews are on high alert “to follow developments in Palestinian territories.” Symptoms of swine flu include a fever, cough, headache, weakness and fatigue, aching muscles and joints, sore throat and a runny nose. Swine flu also called H1N1 flu, swine influenza, hog flu, is an infection caused by any one of the several types of swine influenza virus like H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
