Rome leads Italian cities in confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus known as the swine flu, according to a 27 July bulletin by the Italian health ministry. Of the 618 cases confirmed in Italy since the beginning of May, 161 have been in Rome. Health authorities blame a combination of factors including tourism to Rome and large number of local students travelling on study holidays to countries with high rates of infection, such as the United States and Great Britain.

The spread of the A(H1N1) virus has been limited in Italy with respect to many other countries in Europe. As of 28 July, the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDCP) was reporting 1,806 cases in Spain 6 of which were fatal, 3,349 cases in Germany and 11,159 cases in the United Kingdom of which 31 were fatal. However, the British Health Protection Agency (HPA) estimates that the number of infections in the UK could be as high as 100,000.

On 26 July, the A(H1N1) virus claimed its first Italian fatality, Giulio Masserano, a Rome-native living in Argentina. So far, there have been no reported deaths in Italy resulting from the A(H1N1) virus.

As of 21 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) put the virus