Center for Disease Control

Health authorities in Greece are on standby for a sharp rise in the number of flu cases, believing that the current cold snap following a mild winter has created the ideal conditions for the virus to spread.

Health authorities on Monday said that a sailor on a ship bound from Guinea to the port of Piraeus who was reported to have been displaying possible signs of Ebola was not believed to be infected with the deadly virus that has claimed thousands of lives in West Africa.

Greek health authorities and facilities are preparing for the possibility of an Ebola outbreak in the country, with experts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) constantly updating their directives.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) on Thursday contradicted foreign press reports according to which hundreds of tourists suffered food poisoning at a hotel on Rhodes earlier this month, stating that the likeliest explanation for the sickness of a large number of guests and employees at the establishment in question was infectious gastroenteritis.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) on Wednesday confirmed the first case of West Nile virus in Greece this year.

According to KEELPNO, laboratory tests confirmed that an 85-year-old Greek man has been infected with the virus, which can be fatal.

The man is a resident of Attica and has not traveled to other parts of the country, KEELPNO said.

Authorities found on Monday an Athenian taxi driver who picked up a passenger arriving from Saudi Arabia on Thursday while suffering from a rare respiratory disease that has killed dozens.

The number of people who have died from the flu since the beginning of the year rose to 111 on Wednesday, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO).

Greece has experienced more deaths from flu than any other European country this year apart from Spain, whose population is more than four times larger, according to the latest figures measuring the virus’s impact.

The number of people in Greece who have died after contracting flu this winter rose to 110 on Monday.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) said that another 46 people are receiving hospital treatment.

The number of flu-related deaths in Greece exceeded 100 on Wednesday, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO), which has been monitoring the spike in the number of cases of the virulent H1N1 strain this year.