Death toll from swine flu has risen to 57 since the beginning of this winter, Turkish Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said on Thursday.

Before being infected, six people were chronically ill, one was pregnant, while the others had no health problem, said the minister at a meeting in parliament.

A total of 280 H1N1 cases have been confirmed among 480 samples taken from the public, said the minister, adding that the virus is decreasing now.

Zika virus, a condition that is "spreading explosively" throughout the Americas according to the WHO, is "not a risk, not threatening Turkey at the moment," the minister also said.

Outside Latin America, the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects, is also being reported in several European countries.

Swine flu killed 30 people throughout Turkey in the previous winter.

In 2009, the H1N1 endemic erupted in Mexico, later becoming a worldwide epidemic. Endit

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