Riga - Fears grew about the spread of the A/H1N1 flu virus, known commonly as swine flu, in the Baltics Wednesday, after Latvian health officials confirmed two more deaths as a result of the illness. The Centre for Infectious Diseases said a 49-year-old man from Riga and a 60-year-old woman from the eastern town of Jekabpils had become the second and third fatalities in the country.
Latvia was the first of the Baltic states to suffer a swine flu fatality on October 9 when a 50-year-old woman died from complications related to the virus.
On Monday, neighbouring Lithuania recorded its second swine flu death and Estonia experienced its first.
The number of swine flu cases in the Baltic states has risen sharply in recent weeks, with long queues for anti-viral medication forming at some pharmacies and many schools closed.
Lithuania has been particularly hard hit with more than 400 people currently hospitalized and more than half of the country's 60 municipalities declaring that the flu has reached epidemic levels.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Raimundas Palaitis said the country was prepared to declare a national emergency if necessary, which would effectively prohibit large public gatherings as a means of stopping the spread of the disease.
"The epidemic has gone beyond municipal and county levels and become a national issue," Palaitis said. "We hope things will not get worse, but if they do, we are preparing to do whatever will be necessary."
The authorities in Estonia are also stepping up their response to the disease. The deputy mayor of the capital Tallinn said a plan to send anti-viral medicines to Ukraine, which has been hit hard by swine flu, had been scrapped due to complicated paperwork and the fact that such vaccines were now in short supply in Estonia.
Social Affairs Minister Hanno Pevkur said Wednesday that vaccinations against swine flu would likely start on December 14 after fresh supplies were delivered.
