# 2009 swine flu pandemic in Turkey

The 2009 flu pandemic was a global outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, first identified in April 2009, termed Pandemic H1N1/09 virus by the World Health Organization (WHO) and colloquially called swine flu. The outbreak was first observed in Mexico, and quickly spread globally. On 11 June 2009, WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic. The overwhelming majority of patients experience mild symptoms", but some persons are in higher risk groups, such as those with asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or who are pregnant or have a weakened immune system. In the rare severe cases, around 3–5 days after symptoms manifest, the person's condition declines quickly, often to the point of respiratory failure.
The virus reached Turkey in May 2009. A U.S. citizen, flying from the United States via Amsterdam was found to have the swine flu after arriving at Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport. Turkey is the 17th country in Europe and the 36th country in the world to report an incident of swine flu.
The Turkish Government has taken measures at the international airports, using thermal imaging cameras to check passengers coming from international destinations.
The first case of person to person transmission within Turkey was announced on 26 July 2009.
On 2 November, the Turkish Health Ministry began administering vaccines against H1N1 influenza, starting with health workers.
After a slow start, the virus spread rapidly in Turkey and the number of cases reached 12,316. First death confirmed on 24 October and death toll reached 627.

## Timeline

Reported deaths by provinces :
| Province | Confirmed deaths |
| Total | 627 |
| Ankara | 34 |
| Istanbul | 30 |
| Konya | 24 |
| Adana | 17 |
| Diyarbakır | 10 |
| Gaziantep | 9 |
| Kayseri | 9 |
| Şanlıurfa | 9 |
| Van | 9 |
| Bursa | 7 |
| Denizli | 5 |
| Sivas | 5 |
| Tokat | 5 |
| Hatay | 4 |
| Isparta | 4 |
| İzmir | 4 |
| Samsun | 4 |
| Antalya | 3 |
| Elazığ | 3 |
| Kahramanmaraş | 3 |
| Malatya | 3 |
| Batman | 2 |
| Eskişehir | 2 |
| Giresun | 2 |
| Karabük | 2 |
| Kocaeli | 2 |
| Kütahya | 2 |
| Manisa | 2 |
| Mersin | 2 |
| Niğde | 2 |
| Sakarya | 2 |
| Afyon | 1 |
| Aksaray | 1 |
| Amasya | 1 |
| Aydın | 1 |
| Balıkesir | 1 |
| Bingöl | 1 |
| Burdur | 1 |
| Çorum | 1 |
| Düzce | 1 |
| Edirne | 1 |
| Erzincan | 1 |
| Erzurum | 1 |
| Kastamonu | 1 |
| Kırıkkale | 1 |
| Mardin | 1 |
| Ordu | 1 |
| Osmaniye | 1 |
| Siirt | 1 |
| Şırnak | 1 |
| Tekirdağ | 1 |
| Yozgat | 1 |
| 2009–2010 | Milestones of the flu pandemic in Turkey |
| 16 May | First case in Turkey confirmed in Istanbul. |
| 26 July | First case of a person to person transmission confirmed. |
| 24 October | First death in Turkey confirmed in Ankara. |
| 29 October | First death confirmed in Diyarbakır, second overall. |
| 29 October | First death confirmed in Konya, third overall. |
| 1 November | Second death confirmed in Ankara, fourth overall. |
| 1 November | Second death confirmed in Konya, fifth overall. |
| 1 November | Third death confirmed in Konya, sixth overall. |
| 2 November | Mass vaccinations began. |
| 2 November | First death confirmed in Şanlıurfa, seventh overall. |
| 2 November | First death confirmed in Istanbul, eighth overall. |
| 2 November | Third death confirmed in Ankara, ninth overall. |
| 3 November | First death confirmed in Kayseri, tenth overall. |
| 3 November | Eleventh death of Turkey confirmed. |
| 4 November | Three people died in various cities. |
| 4 November | First death confirmed in Batman, fifteenth overall. |
| 5 November | Four people died in various cities. |
| 6 November | Two people died in various cities. |
| 7 November | Two people died in various cities. |
| 8 November | Four people died in various cities. |
| 9 November | Three people died in various cities. |
| 10 November | Six people died in various cities. |
| 11 November | Four people died in various cities. |
| 12–13 November | Twenty people died in various cities. |
| 14–16 November | Thirteen people died in various cities. |
| 17–19 November | Twenty people died in various cities. |
| 20–23 November | Twenty people died in various cities. |
| 24–26 November | Forty-eight people died in various cities. |
| 25–30 November | Thirty-four people died in various cities. |
| 1–3 December | Forty-six people died in various cities. |
| 4–7 December | Fifty-five people died in various cities. |
| 8–10 December | Fifty-seven people died in various cities. |
| 11–14 December | Sixty-two people died in various cities. |
| 15–22 December | Forty-three people died in various cities. |
| 23–29 December | Forty-nine people died in various cities. |
| 30 December–19 January | One hundred and twenty people died in various cities. |