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Men wear masks to protect themselves from H1N1 in Yangon, Myanmar, July 24, 2017. (Photo by Reuters) Myanmar has called for calm after 13 people were confirmed to have contracted H1N1 influenza and a boy had died with flu-like symptoms, raising fears of a new outbreak of a virus also known as swine flu. Three cases of H1N1 had been confirmed in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, on Friday, the Ministry of Health and Sport said in a statement on Monday after news of the infections had already spread. The ministry said another 10 people in Matupi - in the remote northwestern state of Chin that borders India - had caught the virus this month. A 6-year-old boy also died in Matupi with severe respiratory problems suspected to have been caused by H1N1, Win Lwin, the director of the Yangon regional health department, told reporters. "There is no need to panic because it usually happens every year," the ministry said, adding that those with symptoms should go to government cli

A new study has shown that taking vitamin D supplements, especially in small doses during fall and winter, will help prevent catching colds, influenza and other respiratory diseases. The study titled,   Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory tract infections: Systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data ,  analyzed the data from 25 clinical trials in 14 countries and on 11,321 participants, aged 0 to 95 years. “The bottom line is that the protective effects of vitamin D supplementation are strongest in those who have the lowest vitamin D levels, and when supplementation is given daily or weekly rather than in more widely-spaced doses,” lead researcher, Adrian Martineau, said in a statement. Boosting immunity The research team at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) concluded that vitamin D protects the human body against respiratory infections, including bronchitis and pneumonia, by boosting levels of antibiotic-like peptides in the lungs. T