- INFLUENZA PANDEMIC (H1N1) 2009 (70): NEPAL
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- Date: Thu 15 Oct 2009 Source: Republica [edited] http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=10815
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- Swine Flu Appears Among Masses
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- Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus infection -- otherwise
known as swine flu -- has now appeared among the masses, the Health Ministry
said at a press conference Thursday [15 Oct 2009]. "While the previous
confirmed 36 cases had travel or contact history, we have now found the
virus in persons who have no history of travel and have not come into contact
with a confirmed patient," deputy coordinator of the Avian Influenza
Control Project Dr Jitendra Man Shrestha said.
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- Dr Shrestha said that random tests done on 46 common
flu patients at Patan, Bir, Teaching, and Kanti hospitals in the Valley
showed that 3 of them had the [pandemic 2009] virus. The trio had no travel
or contact history with swine flu. Similarly 2 more in the Valley, including
a foreigner, have been confirmed infected by the virus. Likewise, 3 out
of 6 patients currently being treated for viral fever in Chitwan have also
tested positive.
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- A strange viral fever [one of several reported recently
in ProMED-mail], that has affected hundreds in Chitwan since August [2009],
has also claimed 3 lives. "We will try to trace the relatives of the
3 deceased and find out if they had shown symptoms of swine flu [pandemic
(H1N1) 2009 virus infection]," director of the Epidemiology and Disease
Control Division Dr Garib Das Thakur said. Dr Thakur also said that additional
samples will be brought from Chitwan on Friday [16 Oct 2009].
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- Speaking at the press conference, health secretary Dr
Sudha Sharma said that the strategy of the government now has to be changed.
"We will now focus on treatment and tracing of patients instead of
scanning them at border checkpoints and the airport," Sharma said.
The health officials mobilized there will now be used in treatment.
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- Director general of the World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr Margaret Chan on 7 Sep 2009 during her Nepal visit for a regional WHO
conference advised the Nepal government to stop screening passengers for
the virus saying it is very hard to detect the virus and most infected
persons don't even show the symptoms. Instead use the manpower for other
diseases, she had said.
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- The ministry has urged people to follow the preventive
measures it had previously advised. It has also advised patients with basic
flu symptoms not to panic and to seek medical consultation only if they
have difficulty in breathing and sore throat, or if they also have difficulty
in drinking and are pregnant.
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- The Ministry said that a stock of Tamiflu [oseltamivir]
sufficient for treatment of 36 000 patients is available in Kathmandu while
major hospitals outside the Valley also have enough Tamiflu to treat 200
patients each. "Only the high risk groups like pregnant women, children,
patients with other health conditions like respiratory disease, immunosuppression
and diabetes will be given Tamiflu," Dr Shrestha said.
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- Secretary Dr Sharma said that the government will now
discuss with private hospitals how they can help in controlling the disease.
Dr Sharma also stated that WHO has agreed to provide vaccines for medics
involved in the treatment process in the 1st stage in what is a major boost
for health officials who may themselves have inherent fears about the disease.
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- Preventive measures advised by the health ministry:
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- -- cover mouth and nose with handkerchiefs while coughing
or sneezing
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- -- reuse the materials used in covering mouth and nose
only after properly washing and cleaning them
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- -- wash hands properly with soap after coughing or sneezing
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- -- refrain from taking hands unnecessarily to mouth,
nose and eyes
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- -- refrain from shaking hands as greetings and do namaste
instead (Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting or gesture of respect,
made by bringing the palms together before the face or chest and bowing
- Mod.CP.)
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- -- don't travel or visit crowded places unnecessarily
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- Symptoms
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- -- fever, which is usually high, but unlike seasonal
flu, may sometimes be absent
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- -- cough, runny nose or stuffy nose, sore throat, body
aches, headache, chills
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- -- fatigue or tiredness
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- -- diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes, but more commonly
seen than with seasonal flu
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- -- difficulty in respiration and pneumonia in serious
cases
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- High risk groups:
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- -- pregnant women
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- -- people with chronic medical problems, such as chronic
lung disease, like asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or immunosuppression
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- -- children and adults with obesity
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- -- Communicated by: ProMed-mail rapporteur Mary Marshall
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- An interesting account of the appearance of the influenza
pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in Nepal, in contrast to several recent unresolved
outbreaks of disease in Nepal: such as Undiagnosed deaths - Nepal: (DP)
RFI 20090318.1093, and Undiagnosed deaths - Nepal: (Sindhupalchowk) RFI
20080727.2299.
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- The interactive HealthMap/ProMED map of Nepal can be
accessed at http://healthmap.org/r/007i. - Mod.CP
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- Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural
Economics Univ of West Indies Please visit my "Emerging Diseases"
message board at: http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php Also
my new website: http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/ Zhan le Devlesa tai
sastimasa Go with God and in Good Health
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