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Medical authorities still alert on swine flu

It’s almost a year on since the H1N1 virus nearly crippled global air travel and shut down cities.

Local health authorities, however, say holidaymakers need not panic while returning to the UAE this year.

Last year, thermal scanners placed at all entry and exit points in the country kept an eye on those bringing the virus back to the UAE from their home countries.

Though a number of deaths have been reported in India, authorities say all kinds of tests on travellers coming in to the country have been stopped.

“There are no new recommendations regarding the disease so travellers need not panic,” said Dr Ali Marzouqi, director of Public Health and Safety Department at the Dubai Health Authority.

Though the World Health Organisation stopped recording deaths last year, it says over 15,000 people have succumbed to the disease since the outbreak early last year.

“Though we are still keeping an eye on suspected cases, we are no longer required to carry out the rapid tests on patients,” said Dr Ashok Cherian, general practitioner (GP) at Al Rafa Clinic.

“Suspected cases still have to be referred to government hospitals,” he said. “Since people are taking adequate precautions during travel, it is highly unlikely that we will have huge numbers in the country during this peak travel time,” he added.

He also said that compared to last year, the number of regular flu cases had dropped. “There are a few cases of respiratory illness which can be expected due to climate change but since there were rains last year, the cases were higher then,” he said.

If compared with last year, the number of cases in the common flu or viral illness with symptoms such as common cold has reduced up to 50 per cent, said Dr Irshad Ali, GP at Al Zahra Hospital, Sharjah.

“However, there has been a considerable amount of increase of up to 35-40 per cent in respiratory infections cases,” he added.

He also said that though people get fever throughout the year, it is more common when people are exposed to extremes of temperature.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com

HOTEL STAFF INFECTED

Doctors have called for precaution after some hotel employees have been found to be suffering from Influenza A (H1N1).

Though none of the 12 employees of the local hotel are in a serious condition, doctors say influenza may be resurging during the holiday season since none of the patients had any history of travel.

“The patients were presented with infections of the upper respiratory tract and despite being on antibiotics for some days, they were showing no signs of improvement,” a doctor who treated them said on the condition of anonymity.

“We conducted the rapid test and found them to be H1N1 positive but we have referred them to a government health facility for confirmatory tests,” he said. All patients have been isolated and as per the recent advisory from the World Health Organisation, they will have to complete a five-day course of anti-viral medicine Tamiflu.

According to the doctor, the patients might have caught the virus from travellers staying at the hotel.

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