Turkey's Health Minister Recep Akdag said Tuesday the number of influenza A/H1N1 cases has dropped substantially in the country, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The infectious disease has killed more than 600 people in Turkey this winter but "it has almost petered out in Turkey," Akdag was quoted as saying at a meeting with his Saudi counterpart Abdullah al-Rabia in Ankara.

Despite a decline in the flu cases, the authorities still recommend vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and people who have heart and lung problems or chronic diseases, to be vaccinated, Akdag said.

Turkey reported the first A/H1N1 flu case in May 2009 and the first death from the disease in October. The Health Ministry has launched vaccination of pregnant women and people aged between six months and 24 years old.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2010)