H1N1 swine flu kills 18 in Armenia, three in Georgia, officials

Macro view of isolated H1N1 swine flu virus. (iStock)

TBILISI – Eighteen people have died from H1N1 swine flu in Armenia in the last two months, the country's health ministry said on Thursday, but it said there was no risk of a mass outbreak.

It said on Jan. 13 that 10 people had died of swine flu in the same period, but on Thursday said the toll had now risen to 18. The ministry said the deaths did not amount to an epidemic.

Separately, neighboring Georgia said on Thursday that swine flu had killed three people so far this year.

"In January 2016, three death cases caused by the H1N1 virus were confirmed by laboratory tests," Amiran Gamkrelidze, head of the country's National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health, said.

He told reporters all three victims had been male citizens from western Georgia. Doctors in both countries said the patients who died had complications and had sought medical assistance far too late.