Poor reading culture hampers flu efforts

AS the number of H1N1 flu cases continues to rise, the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC) is battling to ensure that the entire nation is educated on the flu.

Working against such forces is Namibia’s poor reading culture, although the NHEMC is working around the clock to spread the word.The committee last week received several calls from the public to increase its radio presence, particularly for people living in the rural areas, where information is not as easily accessible. The calls were specifically for more information on the symptoms of the flu, its prevention and treatment.The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases now stands at 58 spanning almost all 13 regions, with the latest case being that of a woman in the Otjozondjupa Region.One H1N1 flu-related death has been recorded in the country. Most of those infected by the flu have already recovered and have returned to their daily activities.In a meeting of the committee yesterday, it was noted that some of the ports of entry – such as the Oshikango border post – had not received enough information pamphlets to distribute among visitors entering the country, leaving potential gaps in ensuring that every visitor to the country knows the signs and symptoms of the disease, and how to report such symptoms.The Chairperson of the committee, Dr Jack Vries, said despite a multitude of efforts to disseminate information on the flu countrywide, ‘we are still receiving information that people haven’t received information’.Some members of the committee lamented Namibia’s poor reading culture, expressing concern that ‘even with all the information sent out, many people are still ignorant about the flu’. Vries has called on all national institutions, particularly the ports of entry, that are still in need of information pamphlets to contact Dr Bashupi Maloboka of the Ministry of Health’s Information, Education and Communication Division.To further educate the masses on the flu virus, the NHEMC is also working on a nationwide school campaign to educate children about the H1N1 flu virus, which has the potential of spreading rapidly in a school environment.Vries also noted that with summer well on its way, the likelihood of people getting seasonal flu is very slim, and that new cases of flu should be treated as H1N1.’You don’t get [seasonal] flu in summer,’ he said.Therefore, any further flu cases should be treated with Tamiflu – the antiviral drug used for treating H1N1.To date, of the 333 swabs sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa for testing, only 18 tested positive for the seasonal flu, 58 tested positive for H1N1, and 208 came back negative. The NHEMC is still awaiting 33 results; four were rejected by the NICD; and 12 samples were lost by the NICD.nangula@namibian.com.na