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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
 Posted - 06/27/2009 : 01:55:49
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Swine flu virus stable for now: WHO
26 Jun 2009, 0026 hrs IST, AFP
MOSCOW: The swine flu virus is "stable" but must be monitored closely, director general of the World Health Organisation Margaret Chan said on Thursday, Russian news agency reports said.
"The virus is not mutating for the moment, it is stable," said Chan after a meeting with Russian Health and Social Development Minister Tatiana Golikova.
Chan, however, underlined the importance of close monitoring of the spread of the virus, adding that it was highly "unpredictable."
Since it emerged at the end of April, experts have feared that it could mutate into a virus that combines the contagious nature of swine flu with the virulence of avian flu.
The WHO declared a global pandemic earlier this month. In a global update on Wednesday, it reported 55,867 laboratory-confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus in 109 countries and 238 human deaths from the disease since late March.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2009 : 02:00:31
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Swine flu hits travel industry
KUWAIT: Kuwait's travel industry, already reeling from the impact of a global economic crisis, is bearing the brunt of concerns about the swine flu virus as travelers opt to cancel or postpone their scheduled trips out of the country. Airline officials and travel agents in Kuwait have noticed a drop of over 40 percent in passenger numbers this summer compared to the same period last year.
We have had a large number of cancellations in the last couple of weeks, mostly to European and US destinations. Passenger numbers this summer have dropped significantly," PNJ Kumar, General Manager, Caesars Travels, told the Friday Times.
According to many travel agents and tour operators, many Kuwaitis, who used to travel to the US or European destinations during summer, have adopted a 'wait and see' approach this time around in view of the outbreaks of the disease in many countries. If the virus continues to spread, they say, the disease will have a negative long-term impact on the travel industry.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has accorded swine flu pandemic status. In a global update issued yesterday, the organization reported 55,867 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in 109 countries and 238 human deaths from the disease since late March. In Kuwait, the health authorities have confirmed 26 cases of swine flu.
Fear psychosis
I think it is more psychological than real. The dreadful news regarding the H1N1 virus is really unnerving people here. Also words like 'pandemic' and 'global health crisis' have created panic among people who now prefer the summer heat to a health crisis," Kumar explained.
Abraham David, Vice President and CEO of House of Travels, echoed Kumar's observation. "Today, there is a government advisory on travel to different countries affected by the swine flu. The media has also created a scary scenario. So, people are a little bit worried about travelling abroad," he said. According to David, official passenger booking figures in Kuwait showed a 30 percent slump in May alone.
Summer blues
For Professor Farhad Moradi, there were no second thoughts about cancelling his summer trip. "I cancelled my Europe trip this summer. It's people who come from there who spread it. For the sake of a short break, I don't want a long-term problem," Moradi, told the Friday Times.
Many of those who spoke to the paper echoed the feelings of Professor Moradi. Mohammad Bakri, a Sudanese expatriate working in Kuwait, also cancelled his scheduled European trip. "My home, Sudan, is heaven. Why would I waste my money to expose myself to danger?" he asked.
For the travel industry in Kuwait, the summer season is always considered the most profitable, with a large number of Kuwaiti tourists and business travelers flying out of the country to different European, North American and Asian destinations.
It was unimaginable to obtain an economy class ticket at a short-notice to the US, Europe or Canada during the summer season. But today, seats are available on many airlines such as United Airlines and KLM," says Kumar. He added that there has also been a sharp drop in the number of first class and business class passengers in Kuwait.
The US carrier Delta Airlines is winding up its non-stop service from Kuwait to Atlanta from July 1 in the face of dwindling business. Many other airlines are also considering reducing the frequency of flights on some routes or trimming flight schedules amid declining passenger numbers.
Joy Bernard, General Manager of Bahman International Travels, told the Friday Times that his company has seen a 30 percent to 40 percent decline in the number of business travelers to the US in the last couple of months. "The number is even higher to the European destinations," says Bernard. The Swine Flu pandemic has compounded the problems of Kuwait's corporate travel segment, which were already under pressure from the effects of the recession, he adds.
A bolt from the blue
This swine flu has come like a bolt from the blue since our industry was already suffering due to the recession," commented Joseph Varghese, an employee at an airline office in downtown Kuwait City.
The industry has been unable to recover from a series of setbacks that have adversely affected travel, starting from the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, then the outbreak of SARS in 2003, followed by last year's rocketing fuel price spikes and then the ongoing recession. The swine flu pandemic, the latest problem to affect the industry, has simply added to the industry's woes, they say. Industry sources admit that the discounted fares and summer promotions being offered by many airlines have not helped th
e industry much this summer.
Kuwaiti national Noura Al-Banyan says that her family had planned a two-month holiday in the US. "We always thought that the US is a right getaway for us during summer. We wanted to visit Disney World, Universal Studio, the casinos and all of it. But because of the swine flu, we won't go now," Al-Banyan explained.
Lalit Peres, Sales Manager for Sri Lankan Airlines, said, however, that Asian sector has not been affected by the swine flu. "We have good passenger numbers now," he told the Friday Times. "But remember, most of the airlines are flying at 30 to 40 percent discounted rates compared to last year." He added that the discounting of fares is not economically viable for the travel industry.
It is the nature of mankind to panic when the natural balance of life tilts a little. The swine flu is not a natural phenomenon, it is something that can upset the peace and harmony of homes and nations," said Dr. Abbas Al-Shemmari, Director of Kuwait University's English Language Centre.
Dr Al-Shemmari says he is not afraid but one of the reasons he is not travelling immediately is because he wants to remain healthy to observe the fasting period during the holy month of Ramadan. "We propose to travel during the Eid holidays. By then the situation will be much more stable," he added.
Despite a scary scenario, there are many who dare to take a risk, like Rajeshwari Subbaraman, an English tutor with a private university in Kuwait, who is travelling to Canada this week. "Swine flu has had its predecessors such as bird flu, mad cow disease, rat fever and whatnot. If we start panicking, there won't be any end to it. I'm going to take precautions, but not cancel my vacation with my folks in Canada. Did September 11 stop people from going to the US?" she asks. According to Rajeshwari, there
are risks in life that one has to take. "Now that the travel bug has got me, there is no looking back," she added.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 01:52:21
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Update on Influenza a [H1N1] as on 27th June 2009
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19:38 IST
World Health Organization has reported 59814 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 112 countries as on 26th June 2009. There have been 263 deaths. No further update is available.
Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 22 International airports. 54,113 passengers have been screened on 26.6.2009 of which 37,296 passengers were from affected countries. 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports. A cumulative total of 24,82,286 passengers have been screened.
The nine new cases are reported from Bangalore (4), Delhi (4) and Punjab (1). A family of four who travelled from Newark, USA ( 38 year old Male, 32 yr Female, 9 year old female and 2 year old Male ) transiting Germany reached Bangalore on 26.06.09 by Lufthansa Flight LH 403/ 753 were quarantined at the Bangalore airport and shifted to the identified health facility. All of them have tested positive. The four cases reported from Delhi include a nine year old child who travelled from Seattle USA transiting Seoul and reaching Delhi by Asiana Airlines on 25.06.09 was quarantined at the Delhi airport and shifted to the identified health facility. The remaining three cases ( 40/F, 13/F and 9/M) have all travelled from USA reaching Delhi on 23.06.09 and reported to identified health facility on 26.06.09. The case from Gurdaspur, Punjab is an indigenous case, a contact of positive case reported earlier on 23.06.09.
The indigenous positive case [66 year old female] at Delhi, covered in earlier reports, is stable.
645 persons have been tested so far of which 89 are positive for Influenza A H1N1 [Swine]. 187 out of the 645 persons have been identified through entry screening, twenty seven through contact tracing and the rest were self reported. Of the 89 cases, 59 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted to the identified health facility.
The situation is being monitored.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 02:00:09
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Kuwait News
Suspected swine flu cases being treated in a specialized hospital
KUWAIT CITY, June 27, (Agencies): Al-Ahmadi Hospital has been transferring suspected swine cases to the national infectious diseases hospital without any effect on its regular daily works.
The hospital management said in a statement on Saturday the sections of the hospital are working normally and receiving patients and visitors routinely. Daily work has not been affected with the procedures for transfer of suspected cases of swine flu (A/H1N1) to the hospital for treating communicable diseases.
The hospital is functioning in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) regulations, recommendations and the instructions of Kuwait Ministry of Health.
Al-Ahmadi Hospital has transferred three suspected cases of A/H1N1 to the Kuwaiti Infectious Diseases Hospital, for examination, the statement said, noting that it is the sole hospital specialized in treating communicable diseases in the country.
Kuwait has declared 15 A/H1N1 cases, including two children. Eight cases have been cured and discharged from hospital. The rest will leave eventually.
The national Ministry of Health has taken action in accordance with the recommendations of the WHO. The latest statistics of A/H1N1 cases recorded by WHO reached at 59,000 people infected in 76 countries around the world, mostly had been cured. But 263 people died from the virus.
Two confirmed swine flu sufferers have recovered, leaving Kuwait’s Hospital for Contagious Diseases, a health official said on Friday.
Health Ministry spokesperson and Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Support Services Yousif Al-Nisf told KUNA that a total of eight people affected with swine flu have so far recovered, indicating that the remaining seven are soon to follow.
He called on local residents to remain calm, underlining that the ministry has been fully attentive to the alert since its emergence, forming a strict emergency plan to face the pandemic.
Al-Nisf also said he expected vaccines to be created by the end of the year according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Kuwait has so far confirmed 15 cases of the A(H1N1) virus. Among these numbers are two children. At least one million people in the United States have had swine flu, or around 50 times more than the number of cases reported to health authorities, US health authorities said.
“We’re saying that there have been at least a million cases of the new H1N1 virus so far this year in the United States,” said Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Reported cases are really just the tip of the iceberg,” said Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, of the roughly 28,000 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) flu in the United States.
Around 3,000 people infected with swine flu in the United States have had to be hospitalized and 127 people are reported to have died.
The CDC arrived at its figure of one million cases based on computer models and surveys of communities known to have been hard hit by the new flu strain.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 02:31:31
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9 more test positive for swine flu, total rises to 91
27 Jun 2009, 2235 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: Nine new cases of swine flu were reported in the country on Saturday taking the total number of cases to 91.
Four cases each was reported from Delhi and Bangalore while one from Punjab, a senior health ministry official said.
In Bangalore, a family of four, which reached yesterday transiting through Germany from Newark in the United States by Lufthansa flight, tested positive for the virus.
The 38-year-old man, his 32-year-old wife and two children -- nine-year-old daughter and two-year-old son -- were quarantined at the Bangalore airport and later shifted to the identified health facility, the official said.
Four new cases were reported from the national capital which include a nine-year-old child who arrived here on Friday from Seattle by Asiana Airlines.
The other three, two women aged 40 years and 13 years and a nine-year-old boy, reported to the hospital yesterday after they had shown some symptoms.
The three had reached Delhi on June 23 from the United States.
The swine flu case from Gurdaspur in Punjab was an indigenous one which developed after contacts with a positive case reported on June 23, the official said.
About 645 persons have been tested so far of which 91 were found positive for swine flu.
Meanwhile, screening of inbound passengers from affected countries continues at 22 international airports. Till yesterday, 54,113 passengers have been screened out of which 37,296 came from affected countries. Of the 91 positive cases, 59 have been discharged.
The World Health Organisation has reported 59,814 confirmed cases of swine flu from 112 countries as on June 26. A total of 263 deaths have also been reported.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/28/2009 : 18:55:51
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Four more A(H1N1) flu cases detected in India, total 93
New Delhi (IANS): India on Sunday reported four fresh cases of A(H1N1) flu, taking to 93 the total number of people infected with the virus, according to health ministry here.
One case each was reported from Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Kolkata, and Mumbai, the ministry said.
“About 676 persons have been tested so far, of which 93 are positive for Influenza A H1N1,” an official statement issued here said.
"Of the 93 positive cases, 61 have been discharged. Rest of them remain admitted to the identified health facility," it said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 59,814 confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection from 112 countries have been reported till June 26. There have been 263 deaths globally, mostly from Mexico and the U.S.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 10:21:33
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HINI] as on 29th June 2009
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20:16 IST
World Health Organization has reported 59814 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 112 countries as on 26th June 2009. There have been 263 deaths. No further update is available.
Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 22 International airports. 50,469 passengers have been screened on 28.6.2009 of which 36,679 passengers were from affected countries. 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports. A cumulative total of 25,84,403 passengers have been screened.
Eleven new cases are reported today: Chennai (4), Bangalore (1), Kerala (3), Delhi (2) and Punjab (1).
The four cases in Chennai are members of the same family [38 year old father, two male children aged 8 and 6 years and a 3 year old daughter]. All of them have travelled from Sydney transiting Singapore reaching Chennai [by Singapore Airlines SQ 332/ 528] on 26th June 2009. Since all of them were having symptoms of fever and cough they were detected at the airport and were isolated in the identified health facility.
The case in Bangalore is five year old female child who travelled from Toronto to Bangalore [by LH 754] reaching Bangalore on 26th June 2009. She had reported with complaints of fever and sore throat to the identified health facility on 28/6/09 where she is admitted.
Of the two cases in Delhi, one is 15 year old female passenger who had travelled from London [IT 0008] transiting Mumbai reaching New Delhi on 25th June 2009. She self reported with symptoms of fever, cough, loose motion and sore-throat at the identified health facility on 27th June 2009 where she is admitted. Another passenger is an 8 year old female child who travelled in Emritus Flight EK 204 from USA transiting Dubai reaching Delhi [EK 526] on 24th June 2009. She self reported at the identified health facility with history of fever and cough on 26th June 2009.
The single case in Punjab is a 27 year old male who travelled from London transiting New Delhi [Jet Airways] reaching Amritsar [Jet Airways] on 23rd June 2009. He reported at the identified health facility with symptoms of fever, sore throat and nasal running nose on 25th June 2009.
Out of the three cases in Kerala, one is 37 year old female who had travelled from Abu Dhabi on 27th June 2009 to Kozhikode by Air India Express flight [IX 348] and as she was detected having fever and cough at the airport, she was admitted in the identified health facility.
The other two cases in Kerala are a 57 year old female and her 23 year old son who had travelled from Manchester, UK transiting Dubai reaching Cochin [EK 530] on 24th June 2009 and reported at the identified health facility with history of fever, cough, and sore-throat on 26th June.
The indigenous positive case [66 year old female] at Delhi, covered in earlier reports, is stable.
706 persons have been tested so far of which 104 are positive for Influenza A H1N1 [Swine]. 201 out of the 706 persons have been identified through entry screening, twenty seven through contact tracing and the rest were self reported. Of the 104 tested positive, nine are indigenous cases who got the infection being close family contacts of positive cases who travelled from abroad.
Of the 104 positive cases, 64 have been discharged. Rest of them remains admitted to the identified health facility.
The situation is being monitored.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/29/2009 : 18:33:11
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Preventive steps against swine flu
Thrissur: In the wake of confirmed cases of A (H1N1) Influenza in the State, the health department has intensified preventive measures in the district. There was no need for people to panic, District Medical Officer V. Divakaran said. In case of emergency the public may contact: 2333050, 2333242.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 06/30/2009 : 21:50:40
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e on Influenza A(HINI) as on 30th June, 2009
20:20 IST
World Health Organization has reported 70893 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 116 countries as on 29th June 2009. There have been 311 deaths.
Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 22 International airports. 48,718 passengers have been screened on 29.6.2009 of which 32,972 passengers were from affected countries. 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports. A cumulative total of 26,33,121 passengers have been screened.
Five new cases are reported today: Bangalore (2), Mumbai (2) and Delhi (1). The two cases in Bangalore are a 38 year old female and her 12 year old female child. Both of them had travelled from New Jersey, USA to Bangalore by Air India Flight AI 144 reaching Bangalore on 25th June 2009. The mother had reported with symptoms of fever and generalized body-ache on 29th June 2009 to the health facility where she got admitted. The child had reported to the same facility with sore-throat.
In Mumbai, one of the cases is a 30 year old male who travelled from London transiting Doha reaching Mumbai [Qatar Airlines QR 200] on 28th June 2009. Since he was having fever, dry cough and running nose he reported at the identified health facility. The other case is a 28 year old male who travelled from Chile transiting Santiago, Johanesberg reaching Mumbai [SA/284] on 29th June 2009. Since he was having fever and cough for 4 days, he was detected in the airport and admitted in the identified health facility.
The case in Delhi is a 55 year old male who had travelled from Sydney to New Delhi [Singapore Airlines SQ 408] reached Delhi on 26th June 2009. He reported at the health facility with symptoms of fever with sore throat on 29th June 2009.
The indigenous positive case [66 year old female] at Delhi, covered in earlier reports, is stable.
739 persons have been tested so far of which 109 are positive for Influenza A H1N1 [Swine].
211 out of the 739 persons have been identified through entry screening, twenty seven through contact tracing and the rest were self reported.
Of the 109 positive cases, 70 have been discharged. Rest of them remains admitted to the identified health facility.
The situation is being monitored.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2009 : 02:27:34
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Four tested positive for A (H1N1) flu in T. Nadu
Chennai (PTI): Four members of a family, who arrived here from Australia last week, tested positive for A (H1N1) on Tuesday.
Health Department officials said the persons, including three males aged 38, eight and six years and a three-year-old girl, tested positive for the flu in the medical tests of their swabs.
They would be administered with Tamiflu drugs after being quarantined in the Government Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH) at Tondiarpet here, the officials said.
Meanwhile, four more suspected cases of the flu were reported in the city, officials said without revealing their identity other than confirming that they were all adults.
The persons found having symptoms such as cough have been quarantined at the CDH and their swabs sent for medical tests, officials said.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2009 : 02:35:41
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Update on Influenza A(HINI) as on 30th June, 2009
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20:20 IST
World Health Organization has reported 70893 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 116 countries as on 29th June 2009. There have been 311 deaths.
Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 22 International airports. 48,718 passengers have been screened on 29.6.2009 of which 32,972 passengers were from affected countries. 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports. A cumulative total of 26,33,121 passengers have been screened.
Five new cases are reported today: Bangalore (2), Mumbai (2) and Delhi (1). The two cases in Bangalore are a 38 year old female and her 12 year old female child. Both of them had travelled from New Jersey, USA to Bangalore by Air India Flight AI 144 reaching Bangalore on 25th June 2009. The mother had reported with symptoms of fever and generalized body-ache on 29th June 2009 to the health facility where she got admitted. The child had reported to the same facility with sore-throat.
In Mumbai, one of the cases is a 30 year old male who travelled from London transiting Doha reaching Mumbai [Qatar Airlines QR 200] on 28th June 2009. Since he was having fever, dry cough and running nose he reported at the identified health facility. The other case is a 28 year old male who travelled from Chile transiting Santiago, Johanesberg reaching Mumbai [SA/284] on 29th June 2009. Since he was having fever and cough for 4 days, he was detected in the airport and admitted in the identified health facility.
The case in Delhi is a 55 year old male who had travelled from Sydney to New Delhi [Singapore Airlines SQ 408] reached Delhi on 26th June 2009. He reported at the health facility with symptoms of fever with sore throat on 29th June 2009.
The indigenous positive case [66 year old female] at Delhi, covered in earlier reports, is stable.
739 persons have been tested so far of which 109 are positive for Influenza A H1N1 [Swine].
211 out of the 739 persons have been identified through entry screening, twenty seven through contact tracing and the rest were self reported.
Of the 109 positive cases, 70 have been discharged. Rest of them remains admitted to the identified health facility.
The situation is being monitored.
DS/SS/ls
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/01/2009 : 09:54:22
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19:39 IST
World Health Organization has reported 70,893 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 116 countries as on 29th June 2009. There have been 311 deaths. There is no further update.
Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 22 International airports. 48,242 passengers have been screened on 30.6.2009 of which 36,244 passengers were from affected countries. 224 doctors and 112 paramedics are manning 77 counters at these airports. A cumulative total of 26,81,363 passengers have been screened.
Three new cases are reported today: Delhi (1), Bangalore (1), and Gurgaon (1).
The case in Delhi is an eleven year old male child who travelled from Munich transiting Dubai [by Emirates Flight EK 516] and reaching Delhi on 26th June 2009. On 30th June 2009, since he was having fever and cough, he reported at the identified health facility where he is admitted.
The case in Bangalore is a 29 year old male passenger travelling from Changsha, China to Bangalore [by Dragon Air KA 152] reaching Bangalore on 28th June 2009. He reported at the identified health facility on 30th June 2009 with symptoms of fever and cough.
The case in Gurgaon is an 11 year old female child who travelled from Chicago, USA to Delhi by American Airlines [Flight AA 292] reaching New Delhi on 28th June 2009. On 30th June 2009, she reported with symptoms of cough and sore throat at the identified health facility where she is admitted.
The indigenous positive case [66 year old female] at Delhi, covered in earlier reports, is stable.
769 persons have been tested so far of which 112 are positive for Influenza A H1N1 [Swine].
220 out of the 769 persons have been identified through entry screening, twenty seven through contact tracing and the rest were self reported.
Of the 112 positive cases, 74 have been discharged. Rest of them remains admitted to the identified health facility.
The situation is being monitored.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2009 : 18:44:04
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Centre strengthening measures to tackle A(H1N1) flu
New Delhi (PTI): With an increase in cases of A(H1N1) in the country, the Centre has directed the states to strengthen isolation facilities and critical care at the district level, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In reponse to a calling attention motion on the matter, he said Central and state rapid response teams, comprising doctors drawn from various streams, were ready to be deployed to manage community outbreak situations, if the need arises.
Such teams were also undergoing refresher training courses, he said adding that over 100 A(H1N1) cases have been confirmed so far in the country.
Elaborating on the steps taken by the Centre to meet the situation, he said there was adequate quantity of Oseltamivir, the drug recommended by WHO for the viral infection. Ten million capsules were in the national stockpile and another six million were in stock with pharmaceutical companies.
He said many of the travel-related cases could have been averted if the governments of the affected countries had followed exit screening at their airports.
Mr. Azad said he took up the matter personally with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, who issued necessary instructions the heads of Indian missions.
He said the government is fully geared up to deal with the situation.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2009 : 20:12:17
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First suspected swine flu death in India
3 Jul 2009, 0143 hrs IST, Ananthakrishnan G, TNN
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what is suspected to be the first swine flu death in India, a 51-year-old NRI hailing from Kerala's Kollam died at a private hospital in the district on Wednesday night.
``The man, identified as Stanely Pelis, had returned from the UK in early June. The end came around 9pm, just a couple of hours after he was admitted to the Holy Cross hospital,'' the state's director of health services K Shylaja said. A throat swab has been sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi to identify if it was indeed the H1N1 virus, she added.
Asked if Pelis had been quarantined on arrival, Shylaja said, ``He had landed at the Mumbai airport from UK. He then took a domestic flight to Thiruvananthapuram and disembarked at the domestic terminal here on June 12''. The screening by health authorities is done mainly at the international terminals and hence he may have passed through.
``He may have been screened at Mumbai, but then it is quite possible that he did not show any symptoms of the flu as the virus has a one week incubation period. Later after reaching home, he developed fever and consulted physicians who gave him medicines for common flu. But then it aggravated and finally on Wednesday, he had to be admitted,'' Shylaja explained.
Meanwhile, two persons who deplaned at the Nedumbasseri International Airport in Kochi with symptoms of the influenza have been admitted to special wards and placed under observation. They were returning from Ireland and USA respectively.
On Wednesday, the NICD had confirmed the presence of H1N1 in a 69-year-old woman hailing from Chenganoor in Alappuzha district, taking the number of swine flu affected in the state to four. She had arrived here from Canada.
On June 28, the health directorate had for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic confirmed three cases of swine flu in Kerala. This included a mother-son duo who had returned from London. The 24-year-old boy Tony, a house surgeon in UK, and his 53-year-old mother Mary had arrived at the Nedumbasseri International airport from London with symptoms of common flu. The third was Rukhiya, a 34-year-old hailing from Manjeri in Malappuram district.
The Health department also announced that it was stepping up surveillance at international airports.
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S.ravi
Advanced Member
India
4205 Posts |
Posted - 07/04/2009 : 10:30:12
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swine flu death in London
London is the second worst-affected area in the UK
Warning over fake Tamiflu sales
A 19-year-old man has died after contracting swine flu in London, health authorities in the capital have said.
The man, from south London, had serious underlying health problems and was in Lewisham Hospital. Tests undertaken after his death showed he had the flu.
He is the fourth person with swine flu to die in the UK. Dr Simon Tanner, from NHS London, said London has seen a "spike" in flu cases in the past week.
London is the second-worst affected area, with more than 1,900 cases.
Rise in cases
The death comes as the government's Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson warned the public to avoid panic buying "counterfeit" anti-swine flu drugs online.
Dr Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for London, said: "It is with sadness that we have to announce the death of a patient in London who has subsequently tested positive for H1N1 swine flu."
He said no further details about the patient would be released.
"There are people out there in the community, and we've talked about one today - precious individuals that have got really difficult medical conditions - who are particularly vulnerable when the population has a virus like this in it," he said.
"We've had a spike in London and in the last week or so we've had larger numbers every day."
Other fatalities
Sir Liam said the UK has moved beyond the stage of containing the flu into the "treatment phase", and advised people not to resort to self-medication.
Once again, please turn down any invitations to swine flu parties
Fergus Walsh
BBC medical correspondent
Read Fergus's blog in full
Earlier experts warned that the number of cases in the UK could rise to 100,000 a day by the end of next month.
Jacqui Fleming, 38, of Glasgow, was the first person in the UK to die after contracting the flu, followed by a 73-year-old man from the Inverclyde area of Scotland.
The youngest victim was six-year-old Sameerah Ahmad in Birmingham. All fatal cases were suffering from other health problems.
The first case of the flu in the UK was reported in April.
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'Swine flu more dangerous than bird flu'
