The 2009 flu pandemic in Europe was part of a pandemic involving a new strain of influenza, subtype H1N1. H1N1 is commonly called swine flu. The pandemic infected at least 125,550 people in Europe. There were 458 confirmed deaths in Turkey, 438 confirmed deaths in Russia, and 457 confirmed deaths in the United Kingdom.
Multiple cases of narcolepsy developed in youth as the result of a vaccine. Because Sweden and Finland both only used Pandemrix, "an adjuvanted influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline", the narcolepsy was attributed to it. "In July 2011 the European Medicines Agency restricted the use of Pandemrix to people over 19 years old, as early evidence of the narcolepsy link emerged in Scandinavia." In 2013, the UK Health Protection Agency concluded that Pandemrix "was associated with a risk of one narcolepsy case for every 55,000 children vaccinated. The figures suggest that altogether about 700 cases of narcolepsy in children across Europe may be associated with Pandemrix." No link was found to narcolepsy in adults. In 2015, the UK vaccine damage scheme was forced to pay £120,000 to a seven-year-old boy who developed narcolepsy and was "left severely disabled by narcolepsy caused by the [Pandemrix] vaccine". More than 60 similarly affected others in the UK were eligible to be compensated through the Vaccine Damage Payment Act. Speculation developed that the powerful chemical adjuvant called AS03 was responsible. It was later found in 2019 that Pandemrix-induced narcolepsy is associated with genes related to immunity and neuronal survival.
European Union
On 27 April 2009, the European Union health commissioner advised Europeans to avoid traveling to the United States or Mexico when possible. The same day, the first confirmed case of swine flu in the EU was announced in Spain.
The EU Commissioner for External Relations at the time, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said on 27 April all travel to Mexico and the disinfecting of all airports in response to the global flu outbreak were being considered.
Albania
On 20 July 2009, authorities in Albania reported the country's first positive case of swine flu. The infected person was a student from Gjirokastra, who tested positive to the virus. The student was later reported to have fully recovered from the flu. A few days later, three other cases were confirmed. The infected people, two sailors from the Philippines and one from Romania, were admitted to a Durrës city hospital. By 24 July, there were four cases of swine flu confirmed in Albania. On 3 December 2009, the first death from swine flu was confirmed in Albania.
By 10 January 2010, there were 426 confirmed cases of H1N1 in Albania, including 12 fatal cases. Two pregnant women, an 18-year-old from Kuçovë and a 25-year-old from Kukës, were among those who died.
Austria
Several possible cases in Austria had negative results. One test done on a 28-year-old woman from Vienna had a positive result. Austria was the 9th country affected by a confirmed case of swine flu. There are still two suspected cases being tested. As of 22 July 2009, 64 cases of H1N1 were confirmed in the country.
On 2 November 2009, an 11-year-old girl from Bozen died in the hospital of Innsbruck, becoming the first human victim of the virus in Austria.
Belgium
Six suspected cases of swine flu in Belgium ultimately tested negative.
The Belgian interior ministry announced the first case of H1N1 flu in Belgium on 13 May 2009. The infected person was a 28-year-old man living in Ghent who had returned from a holiday in the United States. A second person tested positive for swine flu in Belgium on 14 May 2009. Two persons tested positive for A/H1N1 flu on 15 May 2009.
A sixth and seventh cases of swine flu were discovered on 21 May 2009. An eighth infection was reported on 26 May 2009.
By 22 July, a total of 126 cases had been confirmed. On 30 July, a woman from Hoogstraten became the first patient in Belgium to die of swine flu.
By 16 August, a total of 2353 cases had been confirmed. As of 18 October, five people had died as a consequence of swine flu it has been estimated that at least 2,010 were infected in Belgium. By 29 October, a total of 76,964 cases were confirmed and seven people had died.
By 25 March, a total of 214,531 cases had been confirmed, with 19 deaths
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The first case was confirmed in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 June. On 16 November 2009 the first fatality in Bosnia and Herzegovina related to the H1N1 virus occurred. The 40-year-old man died in hospital in Mostar.
Bulgaria
The first case of swine flu in Bulgaria was a person traveling from New York to Sofia on 27 May. The person developed respiratory problems, a cough and a high fever on 29 May.
On 30 September 2009 the first fatality related to the H1N1 virus in Sofia occurred. The 30-year-old man died in hospital in the Bulgarian capital.
Croatia
On 29 April it was announced that a 22-year-old traveler from Florida had been held in quarantine in Osijek, Croatia under suspicion of swine flu. Later that day, however, the Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Agency, Dr. Ira Gjenero Margan, stated results of the testing for swine flu were negative "with 99% certainty". On 30 April, a child was held in quarantine in Zagreb but the results were negative. On 15 June, health minister Darko Milinovic confirmed the first case of swine flu in Croatia; however a few hours later he said that a laboratory in London, United Kingdom, had cross-contaminated the samples and thus created a false positive result, meaning that there were no infections in Croatia. The first case was Laboratory confirmed on 3 July. The patient was a 60-year-old woman, who came from Australia. On 31 October, a 61-year-old man from Split became the first patient in Croatia to die because of swine flu.
Cyprus
Cyprus identified its first case of H1N1 on 30 May. The infected individual was a 39-year-old woman from Moldova, living in Cyprus, who had returned from the United States on 28 May. By 11 July, 250 cases had been confirmed in Cyprus.
In the northern part of Cyprus, all the schools, universities and government offices were shut down for ten days. People were told not to leave their houses unless there was an emergency or it was urgent to do so.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic confirmed its first case of swine flu on 25 May. The 29-year-old man was working as a pilot, and he had just returned from New York. He was held in quarantine in the hospital Bulovka in Prague.
By 5 August 2009, 135 Czechs had tested positive for swine flu.
Denmark
Authorities confirmed on 1 May that a Danish citizen had tested positive for swine flu, making it the first reported case in Scandinavia.
By 11 June, a total of 11 cases had been confirmed, including a six-year-old boy.
On 29 June, the first case of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) resistance in the world was announced.
On 28 August 2009, a truck driver from Pandrup, Denmark, died on duty in Norway. This was discovered by the other driver of the truck. They both had flu-symptoms, and when the living man from Pandrup arrived at Aalborg Sygehus, he tested positive for H1N1, although it is still not known if the passenger who died caused the flu.
In 2009, about 600 Danes tested positive for swine flu. Among them were two in isolation in Indonesia and the first known resistant case using tamiflu.
Estonia
The first case in Estonia was confirmed in a laboratory on 29 May. The patient was a 29-year-old man who had returned from the United States.
On 3 June, two new cases were laboratory confirmed.
On 7 June, a fourth case was confirmed. The patient was a person who also had returned from the United States on 4 June 2009.
Seven new cases were confirmed on 26 June. Two of the infected people came back from a trip to Mexico. The others were American students who were on a trip to Estonia with the U.S. Student Ambassador program, "People to People".
On 12 July, six new cases were confirmed.
On 17 July, a young Estonian football player was infected. He had returned from Finland after participating in U-19 European Championships. As of 17 July, there were 22 confirmed cases of A(H1N1).
On 28 July, Ivi Normet, Deputy Secretary General on Health of Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia, speculated that in the worst-case scenario the swine flu could infect 500,000 Estonians in ten weeks. That's about 30% of the Estonian population.
As of 9 November 2009, there were 130 cases confirmed.
As of 11 November 2009, there were 172 cases of influenza A (H1N1) confirmed, in Harjumaa, Tartumaa, Viljandimaa, Võrumaa, Ida-Virumaa and Lääne-Virumaa.
Since 11 November, the Estonian Health Protection Inspectorate no longer recommends laboratory tests for all suspected cases of A(H1N1).
As of 13 November 2009, there were 79 new cases confirmed in one week. The total cases numbered 217.
As of 20 November 2009, there were 269 cases of influenza A (H1N1) confirmed in 10 counties: Harjumaa, Tartumaa, Viljandimaa, Võrumaa, Ida-Virumaa, Lääne-Virumaa, Jõgevamaa, Põlvamaa, Valgamaa and Pärnumaa.
On 23 November, the first death from swine flu occurred. The victim was a 13-year-old boy, living in the Harjumaa region.
On 29 November, the second death from swine flu occurred. The victim was a 50-year-old male. The total number of confirmed cases had reached 302.
On 4 December, another two deaths were confirmed; and the number of confirmed infections had reached 456.
By 6 January 2010, the number of cases was 808, with 13 deaths.
By 4 March 2010, there were 881 cases confirmed and 20 deaths.
Finland
On 16 October 2009, the national broadcasting company YLE reported that the first epidemic wave of swine flu had hit Finland. The National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said that the H1N1 outbreaks in northern Finland were reaching epidemic proportions. THL also reported that by 16 October there were 377 confirmed cases in Finland.
The H1N1 strain of influenza was added to the official list of infectious diseases dangerous to public, ("yleisvaarallinen tartuntatauti"), which guarantees free-of-charge treatment to all residents and allows for involuntary quarantine, effective from 1 May 2009. From the beginning of August it was removed from the list, so free-of-charge treatment is no longer available to residents. Finland's first two H1N1 cases were confirmed on 12 May 2009 in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The first confirmed cases were traveling together in Mexico and came to Finland via Amsterdam on 6 May 2009.
According to a Finnish site tracking H1N1 cases, there were currently 1,425 confirmed cases as of 9 November 2009, and laboratory testing of every suspected case was stopped by August. Two serious cases were reported in Finland by 2 September. Thousands were infected in Lapland, northern Finland by 21 October.
On 24 October, a 25-year-old woman from Northern Ostrobothnia, who also had a chronic disease, died from H1N1 influenza. On 2 November, an 8-year-old previously healthy girl died from the disease. The girl and her parents had visited a doctor earlier, but were sent back home where the girl later died. According to some estimates, the total number of cases in Finland was probably 10,000–100,000.
A two-year-old girl died from the disease (13 November 2009). After publicity of the death of the two-year-old child, Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare, THL, (13 November 2009) said they will no longer report deaths caused by H1N1.
France
As of 28 April there were twenty suspected cases of swine flu being investigated in France. Since 25 April, over 100 cases of Influenza-like illness have been reported, of which 30 were identified as possible cases. 10 of those cases have since been excluded. On 30 April, the number of suspected cases was revised to 50 (including 4 probable cases).
On 1 May, the French Health Minister confirmed, during the 8pm TF1 news that two cases of A(H1N1) flu had been detected in France.
On 4 May, two new cases were confirmed, bringing the total number of people infected to 4.
On 6 May, a fifth case was confirmed in the Paris region.
Two new cases were also confirmed at the end of the afternoon by the INVS (National Institute for Sanitary Watch), 7 are probable and 32 are suspected.
On 7 May, three new cases were announced by the National Institute for Sanitary Watch.
In November 2009, 351 cases were detected for each 100,000 inhabitants. Since August, it has been estimated that 1,980,000 persons were infected by the flu in metropolitan France. There were 43 deaths. (Rising to 70 if including overseas territories)
Germany
On 29 April, the first case of swine flu in Germany was confirmed by the Robert Koch Institute in the area of Regensburg. A 22-year-old woman from Hamburg was also confirmed to have been infected by swine flu during a trip to Mexico. A 37-year-old woman from Kulmbach was also confirmed to have become infected during a similar trip.
On 1 May, Robert Koch Institute confirmed the first case of human-to-human spreading of swine flu in Munich. A nurse was infected from having contact with infected patients. At approx. 10:00 she claimed to be already healed. At the time of 13:00 one further infection in Bavaria was confirmed, but the patient also claimed to be healthy again.
On 2 May, a new human-to-human infection, in the same hospital in Munich, was confirmed. The new patient, who was in the same room with the original infected German that came from Mexico, is currently being reported to show no signs of the new influenza strain anymore.