Fourth swine flu case confirmed

NAMIBIA has confirmed its fourth case of the H1N1 flu virus, commonly known as swine flu.

The fourth case comes less than two weeks since the first flu case was confirmed in the country.Dr Jack Vries, Chairperson of the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC), yesterday confirmed to The Namibian that the fourth positive result of H1N1 flu had returned on Friday, after it was sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa on Tuesday.He said the patient was an elderly woman who had travelled to Europe, and who had presented herself to health authorities at the Windhoek Central Hospital on Tuesday.The positive result is one of ten results that were returned from the NICD last week. The remaining nine came back negative.Vries said the woman was being treated with Tamiflu – an antiviral drug that is being used worldwide for the treatment of the flu virus, and which the Ministry of Health has stocked up on to deal with a potential outbreak. Her family has also been checked for symptoms of the flu, and have been given preventive treatment, he said.The NHEMC Chairperson also confirmed that in the interim, 21 more swabs have been sent to the NICD for testing. The majority of these were from Rehoboth, where two of the confirmed cases – a mother and son – have been reported. The results of some of the 21 are expected to be disclosed during the NHEMC meeting this morning.Dr Henriette Roux of the Namibia Institute of Pathology told The Namibian yesterday that in all, more than 40 swabs from suspected cases of the flu have been sent to the NICD for testing thus far. GLOBAL UPDATEWorldwide, confirmed cases of the flu now stand at more than 130 000 in 160 countries, though health officials believe the actual number of cases far exceeds this figure. Some experts reportedly believe that within the next two years, the pandemic could infect up to 2 billion people.The World Health Organisation has confirmed that H1N1-related deaths now exceed 800 – just four months since the virus was discovered in March, and declared a global pandemic in June.In neighbouring South Africa, the number of confirmed cases has reportedly reached more than 125.According to the Weekend Argus, ‘virologists have called for South Africa to build up vaccine production capacity if it wants to be prepared for influenza pandemics such as the current swine flu outbreak.’nangula@namibian.com.na