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Country on High Flu AlertAug 13, 2009 (The Namibian/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- NAMIBIA is on high alert over the outbreak of H1N1 flu after the number of confirmed 'swine flu' cases in the country rose to 10, but Health and Social Services Minister Richard Kamwi has urged people to stay calm. "There is no reason to panic," Dr Kamwi assured The Namibian yesterday. The logistics are in place and there are enough trained health personnel, Tamiflu and money to keep the situation under control, the Minister said. "We've got the support of President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Cabinet," he said. Dr Kamwi said worried people even phone him on his mobile, seeking reassurance. "They want to know if we are safe." The spreading of H1N1, like any other flu, is to be expected, he said. "However, I am consoled by the fact that the case fatality is extremely low," Dr Kamwi said. Nobody in Namibia has died of H1N1 yet, and the ten confirmed cases are all well again. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 160 000 cases of H1N1 have been confirmed worldwide, and 1 154 people have died of flu-related symptoms. That means that less than one per cent of all people diagnosed with the disease succumb to it. Speaking at the St Mary's Catholic Hospital at Rehoboth, where H1N1 flu first broke out on July 17, Dr Kamwi was quoted by Nampa on Tuesday as saying that Namibia is on high alert. Three new cases of H1N1 were confirmed on Tuesday, one in Windhoek and two at Swakopmund. Dr Richard Gariseb, Acting Chairman of the National Health Emergency Management Committee (NHEMC), told The Namibian he expects new statistics on suspected cases today. Meanwhile, the two pupils at Swakopmund Secondary School who were diagnosed with the H1N1 flu are back at school and as "fit as fiddles", headmaster Leon Visagie told The Namibian yesterday. The boy and girl (aged 16 and 17) were part of a group of 49 pupils who recently participated in the ATKV choir competition in Bloemfontein, South Africa. According to Visagie, some of the children became ill with the flu. "We informed the doctors here of the cases and they came in to test all those that went on the trip. In the meantime, they are all in a separate examination classroom to ensure the possible spread of the flu is limited. They all were given face masks and medical treatment," he told The Namibian. Visagie said he was not informed of the children's diagnosis before the media reported on it. Only after the media covered the story yesterday did a representative of the Erongo Health Directorate inform him of the two positive cases at his school. "They said that the children should remain in a separate class. If no other positive results are received by Sunday, then the children will be allowed to join the rest of the school," he said. Visagie said the pupils were writing exams at the moment and it was decided not to disrupt the examinations - hence the isolation of sick children and face masks. "We would have taken these precautionary measures until we had word from the Ministry of Health," he said. One of the victims' father told The Namibian that when they heard that their child possibly had swine flu they got a "big fright". "One gets a very big fright when one hears that one's child has got the virus. I'm just glad she is healthy again, but we will continue to monitor the situation in any case," he said. Meanwhile, Dr Kamwi has called on pupils who experience flu symptoms to seek medical help immediately. Should they be diagnosed with the virus, sick children must be isolated so that classes can continue, he said. Of the 10 confirmed H1N1 cases, three were reported in Windhoek in the Khomas Region, three at Rehoboth in the Hardap Region, one at Ovitoto in the Otjozondjupa Region, one at Gobabis in the Omaheke Region and two at Swakopmund in the Erongo Region. |