The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Croatia has risen to 98, but, despite that, there is no indication yet of an imminent pandemic in the country.

According to Ira Gjenero-Margan, the head of the Centre of Epidemiology at the Croatian Institute for Health Insurance (HZZO), most of the 98 people were young and had been infected abroad, with only 29 infected in Croatia.

Doctors said the patients had mild cases and only one man had come down with pneumonia.

The people who were infected abroad had been in the USA, Spain, the UK and Germany.

Patients who were infected in Croatia had taken part in international-level meetings or been infected by tourists.

If the flu spreads, only patients with severe symptoms will receive anti-viral and prophylactic treatment in hospital. The others will stay home and treat themselves.