Bulgaria declares nationwide swine flu epidemic

All hospital visits as well as regular medical checks for pregnant women and babies will be suspended and planned operations postponed.

Bulgaria's health ministry declared a nationwide swine flu epidemic on Friday as the country reported its sixth death from the A(H1N1) virus.

The rate of infection necessary for declaring an epidemic -- 200 infected people for every 10,000 -- was already surpassed in Bulgaria, the ministry said in a statement.

Schools across the country will be closed all of next week. Local authorities will decide whether to also shut kindergartens and universities.

All hospital visits as well as regular medical checks for pregnant women and babies will be suspended and planned operations postponed, the ministry added.

Meanwhile, cinemas, theatres and other public venues would not be forced to close but people were encouraged not to attend crowded places.

A flu epidemic had already been declared in 16 separate regions across the country earlier this week, including the capital Sofia.

A shortage of anti-flu drugs prompted Bulgaria on Thursday to seek additional supplies from fellow EU members and drug makers, while people complained on television that chemists had also run out of protective masks.

No country had answered the call by Friday, national radio reported.

Few people on Sofia's streets could be seen wearing masks, however, as temperatures rose up to 17 degress Celsius (62.6 Fahrenheit).