Namibia to do own flu tests: Dr Vries

AS the number of H1N1 cases in Namibia increased to 51 yesterday, the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC) said its plans to test people for the flu locally are well underway.

It said the Ministry of Agriculture has agreed to lease the necessary equipment to the Namibian Institute of Pathology (NIP).The date when Namibia will start testing its own H1N1 swabs is not yet known, but NHEMC Chairman Dr Jack Vries confirmed that the Ministry is not using its icycler real-time system (iQ) at the moment, and that the NIP is therefore allowed to use it. Training has already started and once the NIP begins to test, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will stand by to accredit the process, Dr Vries said.The NHEMC welcomed the news, as Namibia currently depends on South Africa to diagnose its H1N1 cases.On Monday, the NIP was left stranded as customs officials in South Africa went on strike and four samples could not be sent there for testing.Namibia’s own facilities won’t just cut dependency, but will also drastically reduce the time to get results, Dr Vries said. Currently it can take up to ten days, whereas results can be obtained within 24 hours if tests are done locally.Seven new cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed since the weekend, Dr Vries said.Three were from Walvis Bay, of which two were men, 28 and 52 years old. In Windhoek, a man of 60 was diagnosed, as was a man of 33 from Rundu. Also in the North, a woman of 22 tested positive.Only one child, a one-year-old girl from Rehoboth, has been diagnosed with the flu since the weekend, Dr Vries said. They were all treated and have recovered fully, he stressed. Since H1N1 broke out in Namibia in July, 284 people have been tested. Of these, 184 tested negative and 43 tests are pending.Two tests got lost and four were rejected, Dr Vries said. Meanwhile, the NIP has tested 79 people for measles between August 1 and September 4.Of these, 38 tested positive. Two of these cases are from Windhoek – a 24-year-old man and a baby of three months. The rest are from the Engela District.Three of the people tested for measles are ‘borderline’ cases, while 38 tests turned out negative.