Naples, 5 Nov. (AKI) - Doctors in the southern Italian city of Naples on Thursday demanded more vaccines to counter the spread of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, as the first confirmed deaths were recorded in Rome. Gabriel Peperoni, head of the Neopolitan Medical Association, spoke to Adnkronos Salute about his concern for the Campania region, surrounding Naples.

"Right now we have 300,000 doses of the vaccine for the six million inhabitants of the Campania region," said Peperoni.

"We can begin using what we have, but on behalf of the Neapolitan Medical Association and due to the emergency, we have asked for additional doses," he said, after meeting a delegation of welfare ministry officials, headed by deputy health minister Ferruccio Fazio.

At least 24 people have died from the H1N1 virus in Italy, 10 of them in the southern region of Campania, where Naples is located.

Fazio told the media that the virus is affecting primarily young children.

"The H1N1 virus is affecting children and young children primarily: Five out of 100 are already sick," said Fazio, quoted by Italian daily La Repubblica.

The World Health Organization said last week that there have been more than 440,000 laboratory confirmed cases of the pandemic influenza H1N1 around the world this year and over 5700 deaths reported to WHO.

However, WHO also said that "many countries have stopped counting individual cases, particularly of the milder illness."