Greek Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said here on Wednesday that the ministry is stepping up measures and moving on from simply recording cases to action for preventing the spread of the A/H1N1 flu virus.

The minister announced a new package of measures for coping with an anticipated outbreak of the H1N1 influenza.

He clarified that the emphasis will shift from recording cases to assessing their severity and likely complications.

The minister explained that 90 percent of the H1N1 influenza cases in the country have been fully cured and only a few required hospitalization and anti-influenza drug treatment.

Regarding the administration of antiviral drugs, he stressed that their use for precautionary purposes was strictly prohibited and was recommended only in more serious cases, in order to avoid the development of virus resistance that would make them ineffective.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,000 beds are already available in hospitals nationwide for patients that develop complications, while their number is expected to increase by September.

Scientists are concerned that the novel influenza virus has similarities with the Spanish Influenza pandemic in 1918 that killed millions of people. Greek Health Ministry scientists underlined that the "pandemic waves are a shared characteristic ofthe two influenzas, a fact that calls for vigilance."

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2009)