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Bhutan braces for swine flu

1 May 2009

The Health Ministry has started taking precautionary measures after countries around the world responded to the recent outbreak of swine flu.

In a meeting with the Agriculture Ministry and WHO representatives yesterday, the ministry decided to increase its weekly vigilance and monitoring in all the hospitals. Public health laboratories around the country will expand their laboratory-based influenza surveillance and ensure that confirmation is carried out quickly on samples by its reference centre in Thailand. The department of livestock will emphasize good farming practices and carry out influenza surveillance on animals, especially poultry and pigs to prevent parallel outbreaks in animals and humans.

The Health Ministry recommends that Bhutanese avoid nonessential travels to countries affected by swine flu.

“People should take preventive measures for influenza such as avoiding close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever and cough. Cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues when coughing and sneezing and dispose the tissues properly and wash hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly, especially after coughing or sneezing,” said the health spokesperson.

The symptoms of swine flu are high fever, sore throat, cough, headache, joint aches and lethargy. Symtoms also include diarrhoea and vomiting.

Humans with direct exposure to pigs are commonly infected with swine flu. Human-to-human spread of swine flu virus has been documented. However, it is not known how easily the spread occurs. Just as the common flu is passed along, swine flu is thought to be spread by coughing, sneezing, or touching something that has the live virus on it. It is very contagious and a person may be able to infect another person one day before symptoms develop. However, swine flu will not be transmitted by eating pork because the bacteria and viruses are killed while cooking.

Swine flu is an acute respiratory disease of pigs caused by one of the several influenza A viruses. While outbreaks of this type of flu are most common among pigs, human cases of swine flu do happen.

According to the international media, until now, deaths have been confined to Mexico where the flu was first reported. More than 150 people have died and over 2000 have contracted the disease in Mexico after its outbreak. Presently, Australia has 91 suspected cases of infection, France 20, the Netherlands several, Colombia nine, Chile eight, South Korea six, Austria five, Denmark five, Sweden five, Switzerland five, Hong Kong four, Ireland three, Poland three, Germany two, Indonesia one, and Thailand one.

BY TANDIN PEM

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