Global Arab Network | Swine flu spreads rapidly in the Middle East

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Swine flu spreads rapidly in the Middle East

Global Arab Network - - George Haddad

Sunday, 06 September 2009 20:40

Number of H1N1 infected cases in the Middle East increase rapidly, the Ministry of Health in Egypt announced the second swine-flu-related fatality. The ministry said that the fatality is for a 25-year-old woman from Diqhliya governorate.

The Ministry of Health has reported that the total number of H1N1 infected cases since the outbreak of the epidemic now stands at 783, 716 of which have been cured. The remaining cases remain in good health and are receiving treatment in hospitals with the "Tamiflu" drug.

Syria - six new cases

Meanwhile, Syrian health authorities reported on Sunday six new cases of the swine flu virus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 37.

A source in the Syrian Health Ministry said in a press release that one of these cases was a Syrian citizen who came from Lebanon.

Four of the newly reported cases belonged to a family that had a member diagnosed previously with the disease.

The source added health teams assembled to combat the disease were able to detect such cases on the field.

Bahrain- 5.5 million dinars for securing vaccines

In the Arabian Gulf, The Bahraini Cabinet decided on Sunday to earmark 5.5 million Bahraini dinars for securing vaccines for swine flu cases, it was officially reported.

The ministers, during the session that was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, reviewed the precautions that have been taken by the healthy ministry and the other relevant authorities to combat the communicable disease.

The ministry of education has taken certain medical and health measures to prevent children against the disease outbreak.

Minister of Health Faisal Al-Homor ordered, on Saturday, the holding of investigations into the death cases related to the infectious influenza.

Morover, Bahrain-based Batelco is announcing its support to help prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus, commonly known as Swine Flu, by donating 550 Thermoflash Devices to the Ministry of Education through the Ministry of Health.

The devices are being distributed to government and private schools all over the Kingdom by the Ministry of Health with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education to help prevent the rapid spread of the virus amongst young children who are very susceptible to picking up the illness.

Thermoflash, the Flu Pandemic Thermometer, which is accurate and reliable, can be used at a distance to detect high temperatures. There is no need for contact, making the device simple to use. Any child entering his or her school, who has a high fever, will be referred to the nearest Health Centre for further investigation.

'Batelco has always been one of the Ministry of Health's major supporters when it comes to donating funds for medical enhancements. Their contribution, which will allow us to purchase devices for all schools in the Kingdom will make a huge difference in our battle to prevent the spread of H1N1,' said Assistant Undersecretary for Primary Care & Public Health Dr. Mariam Al Jalahma.

'We are proud to be pioneers in supporting efforts aimed at enhancing the health and welfare of the local community through meeting the request from the Ministry of Health to provide Thermoflash devices for all schools and kindergartens in the Kingdom. We are proud of our support for health initiatives in Bahrain and hope that our contribution to this very worthy cause will help in a major way to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus in our Kingdom,' said Batelco Media & Government Relations General Manager Ahmed Al Janahi.

Oman - H1N1 follow up

In Oman, Dr Ali bin Mohammed bin Moosa, Minister of Health, issued a ministerial decision setting up H1N1 follow up and management work teams at the directorates-general and health services departments in governorates and regions. Each work team is chaired by the director-general or the health services director there with officials at these directorates or health services departments as members.

The decision stressed that these teams follow up spread of the disease there, take relevant measures to contain it. They are also responsible for educating the society on the disease and methods of prevention and treatment, particularly in schools, institutes and gatherings in conjunction with local authorities. The teams will submit their reports on the follow up and management to the central committee.

The H1N1 follow up and management work teams will be set up at the directorate- general of the Omani Royal Hospital, Khoula Hospital and privately-managed hospitals. Each team is chaired by the director-general or executive director of the hospital with department directors or section heads at the hospital as members, the decision stated. These teams are concerned with laying down, activating and following up implementation of the hospitals’ plan and response to the disease via the contingency plan in co-ordination with the follow up and management committee in governorates, regions and wilayats.

H1N1 situation in Kuwait satisfactory

The pandemic situation of the Influenza A subtype virus H1N1 in Kuwait is generally satisfactory and is not a source of concern, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said.

Speaking to KUNA after an inspection tour of the Infectious Diseases Hospital and laboratory here, WHO's regional consultant for pandemic diseases Dr. Hassan Beshri confirmed that Kuwait's measures to control the outbreak of the disease were in line with the WHO regulations.

"There is no reason for panicking as long as the spread rate of the virus in the country is not alarming," he said.

"The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health is doing its utmost to rein in the disease, " Beshri pointed out. "The preventive measures, surveillance operations and awareness campaign are being done in complete transparency and full cooperation by the concerned departments," he said.

He urged all people to abide by the preventive regulations in order to ensure successful combat against the disease, noting that the combat requires cooperation from everybody.

During his visit to the hospital, Dr. Beshri was briefed on the plans and programs of the Health Ministry to control the spread of swine flu. He also met directors of the central hospitals and chiefs of first aid departments in the health directorates.

The visit which came in response to an invitation from the ministry aimed to assess the health situation in Kuwait and help compile a complete report on the preventive measures adopted by Kuwait. The number of swine flu cases reported in Kuwait this week is less than that of the last week. The total number of registered cases since April is 1, 336, most of which have recovered completely. (SANA, BNP, Egyptian Newspapers, KUNA, by George Haddad.)

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