Three people from Ogliastra are hospitalized in Lanusei , in serious conditions , due to infection with the H1N1 virus .

A patient from Bari Sardo , 60 years old, and another 45 years old, from Tertenia , are intubated with the clinical picture of the latter judged to be rather critical . The third man , a guest of the department directed by Francesco Loddo, is subjected to mechanical ventilation .

These are, as the doctors specify, patients suffering from severe forms of acute respiratory failure .

The A/H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu virus, was responsible for the 2009 influenza pandemic and has been circulating ever since.

The three patients all entered hospital last week with more or less the same symptoms ,   attributable to a flu, as well as a dry and irritating cough , which later revealed bilateral pneumonia.

The seasonal flu vaccine is effective against the H1N1 virus, a combination of infectious pathogens originating from pigs, birds and humans.