Rhiza Labs FluTracker Forum

Let’s be swine flu cautious at Umhlanga
With Africa’s biggest traditional event underway and tourists from world over trekking to Swaziland to witness this spectacle, we should not lose sight of a recently emerged danger, Swine Flu, that spreads rapidly where there are gatherings of multitudes.

Recent reports suggest that a fourth case of Swine Flu has been reported in Swaziland and it is a pupil who recently returned from a trip to Durban, South Africa. About 20 deaths confirmed to have been caused by Swine Flu, have been reported by our neighbours.

With Swine Flu tests costing as much as E600 locally, very few, if any, young maidens would have gone to a health centre to verify if their colds and flu’s are not the symptoms of the dreaded flu before setting out to join the thousands of others at the reed dance.....

http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=10229

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umhlanga

Swaziland has 2 confirmed cases of swine flu...
http://www.afro.who.int/ddc/influenzaa/ ... date43.pdf

MBABANE – About 12 more cases of H1N1 commonly known as swine flu, have since been discovered in the country, bringing the total number to 19.

Information gathered was that the cases were discovered in Hhohho, Manzini and Shiselweni regions.Swine flu is a common and sometimes fatal respiratory disease among pigs, first identified in 1930, that is caused by a Type A influenza virus. Normally, the disease is specific only to pigs.

The cases have already been reported to the Ministry of Health’s Emergency Department. Masitsela Mhlanga, who is among the people the ministry has entrusted to closely monitor the disease, confirmed the figures. He said most of the people were lucky because they visited their close health centres soon after seeing the symptoms.

“They are currently under the doctors’ care, but I must say they are safe for now as the symptoms were sported early,” he said.
Mhlanga said currently they had not received any reports from the Lubombo region. “However, there are fears that the disease might spread throughout the country but we are monitoring the situation and we will definitely inform the public if there are any changes,” he said.
http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=10976

THE deadly Swine Flu has hit the country once again.
One case of the flu has been reported in the country in the past two days, the Disaster Preparedness and Response has revealed.
The Chairman, Masitsela Mhlanga, could not reveal the identity of the patient because the information was confidential. Since the virus reared its ugly head in 2009 in Swaziland, only two cases were reported in the same year and they were treated.
Mhlanga said; “the country’s Immediate Disease Notification System (977) has shown that at least one suspected case of H1N1 has been reported over the past 24hrs.”
The flu first hit South Africa last week, where 202 cases were reported. Gauteng Province reported 191 cases out of these.
“Regional health authorities are reminded that cases and local outbreaks of H1N1 (2009) infection will continue to occur and in some locations, such outbreaks could have a substantial impact on communities,” said Mhlanga.
He said early recognition and appropriate treatment of such cases remains important. He advised people with persistent flu to do a check up because the symptoms of Swine Flu are not that much different from normal flu.
People who are at high risk of the pandemic H1N1 virus are young children, pregnant women and people with underlying respiratory or other chronic conditions, including asthma and diabetes.
.....article continues.....

http://www.observer.org.sz/index.php?news=26039

MBABANE – Health officials suspect 22 people in the country may have swine flu, but no cases have been confirmed yet.

The Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Unit said flu illnesses like the dangerous H1N1 spread among people during winter seasons. The swine flu virus killed 12 000 people in 2009, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) estimated.

Thulani Dlamini, who is the EPR’s communications head in the department responsible for controlling these deadly viruses, said 22 people are suspected of having the deadly virus, but nothing has been confirmed.

"Currently there is no case of H1N1 locally," Dlamini said. He said the 22 suspected cases are all people who visited or met a man from Pretoria with the virus. "The man was infected and eventually died in South Africa."

He said they do not know from which border post or other entry points into the country the illness came, because the suspected infected people come from different areas. "The patients are from areas such as Hlathikulu and Manzini [and so on]," Dlamini said.
.....article continues....
http://www.times.co.sz/News/29590.html

He said they do not know from which border post or other entry points into the country the illness came, because the suspected infected people come from different areas. "The patients are from areas such as Hlathikulu and Manzini [and so on]," Dlamini said.

He said the disease, which infects and affects people the same way as normal flu would, is making some people around the world ill now because of the outbreak two years ago. From media reports it seems a handful of people may have died recently in some countries globally.

The swine flu disease, which is born and lives in pigs, killed a large amount of people when it broke out in 2009 in Mexico. According to the online database, MedicineNet, the contagious virus claimed about 160 deaths when it broke out in the South American country in April 2009.

But the EPR said Swaziland is ready to treat patients who might contract swine flu. Dlamini said government has stock-piled enough medicine to treat confirmed H1N1 cases. Dlamini said government "will ensure the drug is made available to Central Medical Stores for ordering by hospitals and health centres".

He said the Ministry of Health will be monitoring cases of illnesses and looking for unusual events like flu outbreaks and large numbers of deaths.

"Regional health authorities are reminded that cases and local outbreaks of H1N1 (2009) infection will continue to occur," Dlamini warned.

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The health authorities have released an alarming note warning people about flu epidemic. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Head in the department responsible for controlling these deadly viruses, Thulani Dlamini, notified that around 22 people are suspected to carry the traits of deadly virus.

Mr. Thulani Dlamini said that at present there is no acknowledged case of H1N1 among the local natives and the 22 suspected cases are all people who travelled or encountered a person from Pretoria with the virus. The man was contaminated and passed away in Africa.

While suggesting some measures to limit the chances of infection the Director of the Center for Wilderness and Travel Medicine at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Dr. Michael Zimring, said that communicable disease can pass through sneezing or even with contaminated objects. Further, he prescribed practicing high standard of hygiene to cope with the virus.

http://topnews.net.nz/content/215932-he ... -swine-flu

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MBABANE- The country could be under siege from a possible outbreak of the feared and deadly H1N1 virus.

H1N1 is widely known as ‘swine flu’.

Bearing similar symptoms with the normal flu virus, H1N1 could prove deadly if undetected and untreated in a carrier.

Presently there are patients in the country who are suspected to have the virus.

They have been put through a series of tests to determine if, indeed, they have contracted it or not.

The number of patients who are being tested has not been confirmed.

In 2008 running to 2009 there was a global alert of the virus and it is believed to have re-emerged in the country.

On the other hand, cases have been reported in South Africa and are said to be rising.

Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit, Masitsela Mhlanga, said there were suspicions that there is an outbreak of the virus in the country.

While, Mhlanga said for now information on these suspected cases is classified, his unit is awaiting the results of the tests.

"We are still running tests on the patients who exhibited these symptoms. We have suspected cases. As we are researching, the information will, for now, remain classified as the tests are being done in South Africa, even though symptoms point to it," said Mhlanga.

He said the virus had subsided going into 2010 when the country had been on high alert in 2009.

Mhlanga added, "We received a warning from our Notification Unit this morning (yesterday morning) that there could be signs of the virus."

At present he said people should be on high alert and immediately get tested if they suspect that they have contracted the virus.

"We are presently at containment stage of the virus and we need to promote early treatment behaviour. If it is undetected and not treated it could lead to complications, severe illness or even death," he said.

He said people who are most vulnerable are those with a weak immune system or have other diseases.

Mhlanga warned that the winter season could result in many people testing positive as this time is synonymous with all types of flu.


http://www.times.co.sz/News/29557.html

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SIPOKAZI FOKAZI

Health Writer

A CAPE Town man has died after contracting swine flu during a holiday in Turkey.

His wife, who asked that neither she nor her husband be named, said that at first she had thought that her husband, 58, had “a normal cold”.

The couple had been in Turkey when he fell ill, and he had taken “normal flu medicine”, she said yesterday.

“He was feeling cold, had a bit of a cough and a fever, but we didn’t read too much into it,” she said.

They were on a flight from Istanbul to Joburg on May 18 when his condition worsened: “By the time we landed in Joburg, he was so ill that he couldn’t even stand up. His chest was so tight that he struggled to breathe,” his wife said.

Rushed to a private medical centre in Joburg, he had surgery before being transferred to another hospital.

But while he seemed to be recovering, he developed another infection that complicated his condition and, his immune system seriously weakened, he died.

“His immune system was now just too weak and he succumbed to the infection,” his wife said.

She said that while her husband was being treated at the second hospital, a 27-year-old man had also died of swine flu-related complications. The hospital declined to confirm this or the details of her husband’s condition.

The woman said she wanted to use her tragic experience to warn others that flu symptoms should not be taken lightly.

“Swine flu symptoms are no different from normal flu. People should always be wary, especially if the patient has a fever. Rather play it safe and have the flu checked out by a doctor before it’s too late.”

Her husband’s funeral was this week.

Dr Lucille Bloomberg, the deputy director of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), said South Africa’s flu season was in full swing and swine flu, or H1N1, was “predominant”.

Although she could not provide numbers, Bloomberg said some severe cases of swine flu had been reported this season.

The NICD has previously warned that while most flu-related illness is uncomplicated, some at-risk groups may develop complications.

These include pregnant women, people with chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes and those who are HIV-infected or have other causes of immuno-suppression. People over 65 are particularly at risk.

Earlier this year, the Western Cape Health Department earlier this year ran an intensive flu vaccination campaign at clinics and hospitals around the province.

sipokazi.fokazi@inl.co.za
http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/swine-fl ... -1.1083988

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The linkage to Turkey may involved the sub-clade which has S246N in Singapore and Australia.

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