Govt arms nation against flu

GOVERNMENT has taken action to arm Namibia against the H1N1 flu virus, also known as ‘swine flu’, and to ensure that it has ‘the bullets to fight the flu’ should it ever rear its head in Namibia.

Dr Jack Vries, who heads the Namibian emergency team dealing with the H1N1 flu threat, yesterday confirmed to The Namibian that antiviral medication and surgical masks have been ordered from South Africa, and that several measures are in place to confront the threat of the flu.This was decided at a meeting of the emergency team yesterday, at which feedback from pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical, education and communication organisations, as well as the Namibia Institute of Pathology, was shared.Vries said the measures decided upon would ensure ’emergency preparedness’, and that the team is in close communication with the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa to ensure an efficient response to the virus.Vries said 20 000 units of Tamiflu have been ordered. A third of this will be in the form of a syrup for children, which will be administered as one teaspoon twice a day; and two thirds in the form of capsules for adults, administered as one capsule twice a day for five days.In addition, a year’s supply of surgical masks has also been ordered to provide extra stockpiles for health workers, patients and those who come in contact with them, and measures have been put in place to ensure that the seriously ill are taken care of.The team is also ensuring that ports of entry are secured and that the public is fully informed about the flu.’We have contacted international airports, including Gatwick, Frankfurt and Johannesburg, to get a sense of what they are doing,’ Vries said.’None of them test for the flu on the spot, and we won’t be doing that either; but we have designed a leaflet with information, so that travellers are told, for example, that if they are coming in from an affected area and develop any flu-like symptoms within a week, they should report to a health practitioner.’He expressed confidence that travellers would respond to this measure.Also in the works are measures for a mass public information campaign through various media. The team will be printing millions of pamphlets to educate the public on the flu virus, risks, symptoms and response measures, and will be distributing such information through the media, town and village councils and at post offices.Another team meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning to finalise response measures.Several measures are being taken throughout southern Africa, such as emergency task forces, visitor monitoring, outbreak response teams and stocking up on medication.