Istanbul - The death toll from the swine flu has more than doubled in the last day in Turkey, with health officials announcing Tuesday that the illness has claimed its eleventh victim in that country. The latest victims included a 22-month-old baby and a 14-year-old boy who died overnight in Konya, a city in central Turkey. The first victim of the flu in Turkey, a 28-year-old hospital janitor in the capital city of Ankara, died on October 24.
According to health officials, some 1,800 people have been affected by the disease in Turkey, although there is concern that there is a large number of unreported cases.
Turkish health officials yesterday started a vaccination program against the H1N1 virus. Health workers and pilgrims traveling to Mecca were given priority to receive the vaccine.
