You're reading: Bulgaria declares flu epidemic in major cities

Bulgarian health officials declared a flu epidemic Wednesday in half of the country and closed nearly 500 schools to try to stop the spread of flu.

The Health Ministry said there was a flu epidemic in 12 of the country’s 28 regions — including most of the country’s bigger cities, and have ordered all schools there closed until the end of the week.

"Closing of schools is regarded as one of the first precaution measures to limit the spread of the flu virus," said Angel Kunchev, chief epidemiologist at the Health Ministry.

Kunchev added that the peak of the flu epidemic will be reached next week and in some areas, 7 percent of the population had the flu.

Meanwhile, a hospital in the southern city of Velingrad reported the first Bulgarian death from the disease Wednesday — a 62-year-old man.

More than 90 percent of the positive tests at the National Reference Laboratory have been of the swine flu, or H1N1, strain of the disease, Kunchev said.