Namibia on swine flu alert

NAMIBIA is on ‘high alert’ over the global swine flu threat and has revived a special emergency committee to check visitors entering the country, Health Minister Dr Richard Kamwi said yesterday.

However, the Minister said, while Government is ‘wide awake’ about the flu threats, there is ‘no reason to panic’.The World Health Organisation informed Kamwi yesterday that the new swine flu strain in Mexico is ‘a public health emergency of international concern’.’We have been informed to intensify our surveillance. I have already directed my Permanent Secretary to mobilise our committee to be on alert in terms of surveillance,’ Kamwi said.’We will make sure that we have looked at flu-like signs and symptoms of all people coming from the Americas. We must check whether they have not been in touch with anybody having the virus,’ the Minister said.The idea is to quarantine anyone testing positive for the flu strain.Kamwi said he was aware of Saturday’s emergency meeting of WHO experts in Geneva and had also consulted the local WHO office ahead of receiving the communication.The Namibian emergency team is headed by Dr Jack Vries. It is the same team that dealt with the polio outbreak two years ago.A health source said hospitals will also be ordered to notify the head office of patients with flu-like symptoms.In Mexico, the outbreak’s epicentre, soldiers handed out 6 million face masks to help stop the spread of the novel virus that is suspected in up to 103 deaths. Most other countries are reporting only mild cases so far, with most of the sick already recovering. Cases have been confirmed in Canada – six – and the US – 20 – and other countries from Spain to New Zealand are investigating whether other people with flu-like symptoms really have this new swine flu or something else.The WHO has confirmed that at least some of the cases are a new strain of the virus.H1N1 is the same strain that causes seasonal flu outbreaks in humans, but the newly detected version contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds. FEARS OF A PANDEMICThe respiratory virus – which infects pigs but only sporadically humans – is spread mainly through coughs and sneezes.The WHO has warned that the virus has the potential to become a pandemic.On Saturday, WHO Director General Margaret Chan warned countries around the world to watch closely for unusual outbreaks of flu-like illness and severe pneumonia.The antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza have been shown to work against viral samples of certain types of swine flu.Tamiflu is expected to be in greatest demand should swine flu develop into a pandemic, as experts fear it may, since it is given as a tablet.Yesterday, a local pharmacist with a distributor in Windhoek said they are not stockpiling the drug as it has never been in high demand.’We have one packet of Relenza but not Tamiflu. However, we can get it in a week’s time. If need be, we can even bring it in overnight from South Africa,’ she said.Tamiflu tablets come in a packet of 10 and cost around N$363,94 while Relenza costs N$339.In 2005 demand was so high that a dose of the drug was being auctioned for more than £100 on eBay, the Internet auction site, a practice which was eventually banned.International drug company Roche said it has a stockpile of three million packages of Tamiflu ready for use by the WHO, with half held in the United States and half in Switzerland.