Finland will begin a mass campaign to vaccinate the public against A/H1N1 flu this autumn.

This was agreed upon at a meeting of the country's top infectious disease experts on Monday. The Finnish Social Affairs and Health Ministry summoned experts from the country's university hospitals to discuss how to stop the spread of A/H1N1 flu in Finland.

Finland confirmed 19 new cases of A/H1N1 flu over the weekend, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 62, the Finnish National Institute of Health and Welfare said on Monday.

Experts who attended the Monday meeting said they're surprised by the aggressive spread of A/H1N1 flu in Finland. Finland may see its first major outbreak of the flu this autumn, they said.

To stop the spread of A/H1N1 flu in the country, Finland should begin a mass campaign to vaccinate the public against A/H1N1 flu early in the autumn, they suggested.

In addition, the meeting also made the decision that doctors will soon cease prescribing medicines for most patients with the A/H1N1 flu virus, preferring instead to let most cases run their course.

Ville Valtonen, the chief physician for the Helsinki University Hospital, said that the decision was made to limit antiviral flu medication to only the most serious cases.

According to Valtonen, the majority of cases do not need to be treated with drugs. The majority of patients -- more than 90 percent -- will be able to nurse their symptoms at home.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2009)