Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education has announced that the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the country has surpassed 100, Press TV reported.
According to the Head of the Ministry's Centers for Disease Control, Mohammad-Mehdi Gouya, 20 new individuals have tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 105.
Gouya warned on Monday that despite vast media efforts to raise awareness about swine flu, many Iranians have failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and have not taken the threat seriously.
After a joint meeting between Health Ministry officials and the members of the Parliament's (Majlis) Health Committee, Gouya told reporters that the ministry has urged the authorities to ban Umrah Hajj pilgrimage.
Minister of Health and Medical Education Kamran Baqeri-Lankarani had earlier said that Iranian scientists have identified the formulation of the antiviral effective in treating swine flu.
"Iran has collected a sufficient stock of the antiviral," Lankarani had said, stressing that they can provide infected individuals with the required doses of the drug in the shortest time possible.