Gulf Kannadiga - a reflection of Karnataka in the Gulf

ದುಬೈ, ಆ.೨: ಸಂಯುಕ್ತ ಅರಬ್ ಸಂಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊತ್ತ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂದಿಜ್ವರದ ಸಾವು ಸಂಭವಿಸಿದ್ದು, ೬೩ರ ಹರೆಯದ ಭಾರತೀಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಸೋಂಕಿಗೆ ಬಲಿಯಾಗಿ ದ್ದಾನೆಂದು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಸಚಿವಾಲಯ ತಿಳಿಸಿದೆ.

ಈ ವೃದ್ಧ ಹಂದಿಜ್ವರ ತಗಲುವ ಮೊದಲೇ ಉಸಿರಾಟ ತೊಂದರೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಶ್ವಾಸಕೋಶ ಸೋಂಕಿನಿಂದ ಬಳಲುತ್ತಿದ್ದನೆಂದು ಅದು ಹೇಳಿದೆ.

ರೋಗಿ ತಡವಾಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ದಾಖಲಾದನು. ಆತನಿಗೆ ಹಂದಿಜ್ವರದ ಸೋಂಕಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಇತರ ಕಾಯಿಲೆಗಳಿದ್ದುದು ಪತ್ತೆಯಾಯಿತಾದರೂ ಅದಾಗಲೇ ಕಾಯಿಲೆ ಉಲ್ಬಣಿಸಿದ್ದ ಕಾರಣ ಅಸು ನೀಗಿದನೆಂದು ಸಚಿವಾಲಯದ ಹೇಳಿಕೆಯೊಂದು ತಿಳಿಸಿದೆ.

ಹಂದಿಜ್ವರದ ಲಕ್ಷಣ ಕಂಡುಬಂದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡಲೇ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ಧಾವಿಸುವಂತೆ ಸರಕಾರವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕರಿಗೆ ಕರೆ ನೀಡಿದೆ.

Abu Dhabi: A 63 year old Indian man is the first to die of swine flu in the UAE.

The Ministry of Health announced Thursday that the patient was suffering from H1N1 symptoms and an inflammation in his chest and lungs.

The Ministry also said that the patient was late in going to hospital, where he was diagnose with an inflammation in his chest and lungs, along with Swine flu symptoms.

The patient was treated but he passed away as a result of his advanced flu case before visiting the hospital.

The ministry urges the public to visit any medical clinic as soon as any H1N1 symptoms appear.

20 August 2009. The Ministry of Health (MoH) is planning to offer confirmatory tests in more laboratories to tackle the H1N1 influenza A virus situation in the country.

Since May, a total of about 200 cases were announced through state news agency WAM. “We are planning to have laboratory facilities for confirmatory tests in Al Qassimi Hospital (in Sharjah) in September. Hopefully, we might have one more lab in Fujairah in future,” Director General of MoH and Chairman of Technical Health Committee for Combating Swine Flu Dr Ali Ahmed bin Shakar said on Thursday.

He was speaking to Khaleej Times after a meeting of the committee officials and other health ministry officials with the representatives of the private health sector to detail on the evolving policy changes regarding pandemic management. Currently, only Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Zayed Military Hospital in Abu Dhabi are conducting the real-time PCR confirmatory tests for H1N1 influenza A virus.

Each emirate has selected central sample collection centres which send the samples to the laboratories in these two institutions.

Dr Shakar confirmed the move to have more testing centres was prompted by the increasing number of cases in the country, including locally transmitted ones.

“We have many locally transmitted cases now. It is quite natural. Infected patients coming from affected areas can pass it on to their  close contacts.” However, the official declined to give the total number of confirmed cases reported so far.As reported first by this paper, the committee members also revealed that they would no longer depend on rapid tests to initiate treatment in people with clinical symptoms and that confirmatory tests would be conducted only on high risk groups and patients requiring hospital admission due to complications. In other cases, patients with typical symptoms, and those who had close contact with patients with confirmed infection can be isolated, and treated with antiviral drugs at homes, senior officials from the committee told the private sector representatives.

“Managing our resources is a very important part of dealing with a crisis. The private sector plays an important role in supporting us in dealing with the pandemic,” said Technical Director of Preventive Medicine Department at Sharjah Medical Zone Dr Gamil M Tourky. He said all suspected cases have to be notified to the respective preventive wmedicine department in each emirate, which will be responsible for following up with patients quarantined at homes and their close contacts.

20 August 2009, DUBAI — Parents are concerned that schools may not be prepared to prevent an outbreak of swine flu since they have not been asked to follow a unified strategy when they begin the academic year in one week.

The Ministry of Health had informed the media that they were working on a unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plan to tackle the spread of infection as millions of students start returning to the region’s schools after spending their summer vacation in different parts of the world.

As part of the plan school authorities will be trained to tackle the situation and monitor students for symptoms of the flu.

However, schools have not received any instructions on a plan that needs to be followed and many have devised their own programs to ensure the safety of students and staff when they return.

Anse Fanning, who is part of an administration team at an international school in Dubai said, “Our school has recently appointed teachers from other countries and they have joined as well as those who have returned from their vacation. So I’m worried that in the absence of any measure I could be susceptible. Before the school closed for the summer break we were given handouts that informed about hygiene but that was it.” Her children study at a school in Sharjah and she believes that some schools will adopt prevention programs but others might ignore them if authorities do not enforce a rule.

“There needs to be a dedicated team in each school that will ensure that students are safe,” she said.

Schools have not been instructed to follow a certain protocol when they resume in a few days but have begun preparing their medical staff to deal with the inflow of students when the academic year commences.

The GEMS group has set up its own swine flu team that comprises of senior management staff. “Their aim is to develop a strategy to keep our parents informed and our students protected to the best of our ability. We are developing material and are looking to train our medical staff in each school so that they can help support other staff in helping them identify potential flu cases,” said Richard Forbes, director of communications and marketing.

He said at that the group is seeking advice from the departments of education and health to adhere to a government policy that will be laid down.

Ali Mohammad Rafi, whose children study in Westminister School in Dubai, has sent a letter to the Ministry of Education and the school asking them to step up their preparations to combat the flu. “Schools will reopen in 10 days and I want to know what is planned to ensure our children are safe. We do not know yet how the schools will be ensuring that the disease does not spread. A lot of parents have raised this concern as many pupils who travelled out of the country are now returning,” he said.

Another parent, who did not wish to be named, believed authorities must lay down protocols, including screening processes when students return, and make sure schools follow the rules.

“Screening at the airport may not be sufficient. A case could go undetected and returning students and staff could be carriers,” she said.

Some schools have communicated influenza policies through their web sites and newsletters and at least one school has decided to screen all students at the start of the academic year.