The number of officially lab-confirmed swine flu infections has topped 1,346 to date.

The Health Ministry has also reported around 15,000 H1N1 suspected infections.

'We are bracing for a big surge in H1N1 infections as we head into winter,' Disease Control Section head Dr Mona Al Musawi said yesterday. She also warned of a number of confirmed infections as pilgrims return.

While describing the situation in Bahrain as assuring compared with neighbouring GCC countries, Dr Al Musawi urged Bahrainis and expatriates to get vaccinated.

According to updated statistics, 6,000 were vaccinated without reporting any health complications. Jassim Hussein has become the second member of parliament to get vaccinated after Dr Abdulaziz Abul.

With the start of the second N1N1 wave, the ministry has closed specialised clinics.

Patients are being admitted directly to treatment rooms to ease pressure on the authorities and enable them to cope with the alarming increase in the number of cases. Salmaniya Medical Complex has reopened the isolation Ward 13 after maintenance work to match international standards.

It has 16 beds of which 12 are reserved for confirmed H1N1 patients. Reserved Thirteen nurses and two staff will be at the ward round-the-clock, in addition to a resident doctor to ensure medical follow-up. 'The 13-bed Ward 207 will remain exclusively reserved for critical H1N1 infections,' public and international relations director Adel Ali Abdulla said.

In another development, vaccination forms are being distributed to students at kindergartens, schools and universities to seek parents' approval.-TradeArabia News Service