Pregnant woman infected with swine flu in serious condition

A 38-year-old resident of East Jerusalem was being kept alive by a ventilation machine Wednesday night after being hospitalized in serious condition with swine flu. The woman, 30 weeks pregnant, was being treated at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem.

Doctors were administering tests late Wednesday night and deliberating whether or not to deliver the fetus by cesarean section.

According to the study conducted by the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), pregnant women infected with swine flu have a much higher risk of severe illness and death.

Pregnant women account for six percent of U.S. swine flu deaths since the pandemic began in April, even though they make up only one percent of the U.S. population.

The pregnant woman was hospitalized days after the Health Ministry confirmed Israel's first swine flu fatality. Shimon Azran, a 35-year-old Eilat resident, died of pneumonia after contracting the H1N1 virus.

The Health Ministry warned on Wednesday that it expected 700,000 Israelis to contract the virus. So far, 1,500 cases have been confirmed in Israel, but testing was halted a week and a half ago. The Ministry believes that thousands of Israelis have become ill since.

Netanyahu orders swine flu vaccines for every Israeli citizen

Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an order for the purchase of enough swine flu vaccines to inoculate every Israeli citizen, following a meeting with a special Health Ministry task force.

In addition, Deputy Health Minister Ya'akov Litzman came to an agreement with Netanyahu to increase the nation's flu medication reserves by five percent, so that the amount will be sufficient to treat 30 percent of the population rather than just a quarter.

The cost of the vaccine purchase together with the increase in medication supplies will be around NIS 450 million. The prime minister asked his office director to coordinate the expenditure with the treasury and the Health Ministry in order to bring the issue before the cabinet for a vote as soon as possible.

A vaccine for the relatively new strain of flu, known as H1N1, has not yet been developed, but dozens of pharmaceutical companies around the world are currently working tirelessly toward a vaccine. Experts predict that a finished vaccine should be available for purchase within about two months.

European nations have been quick to order the potential vaccine, but in Israel the issue has been delayed until now.

Israel's center for disease control has said that 700 Israelis contract swine flu every week. The Health Ministry's data has seen an increase in the number of Israelis sick with the virus, especially in Jerusalem and in Israel's central region.