By Pongphon Sarnsamak
The Nation

source:http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30101889&keyword=swine+flu

The Public Health Ministry has issued a warning against people taking the antiviral drug Oseltamivir as a precaution against infection with the influenza A (H1N1) virus, commonly know as swine flu.

As Thailand joins countries around the world in the battle to halt the spread of the virus, the ministry said people panicked into selfadministered doses of Oseltamivir without medical supervision could damage their mental health or unwittingly increase the resistance of viruses to drugs aimed at stopping their spread.


"People who appear unwell and who have fever and a cough should not take Oseltamivir by themselves," Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai told a press conference at the Ministry's operations centre for preparedness and response to an influenza pandemic.


Patients should undergo treatment at a hospital to prevent possible side effects that could harm their physical and mental health, such as vomiting and suffering hallucinations, he said, citing research in Japan.


The Public Health Ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Paijit Warachit, said taking antiviral drugs without medical supervision also raised the risk of viruses developing resistance and reducing the effectiveness of the drugs.


He suggested that people with flulike illnesses should wear a surgical mask covering the nose and month to reduce the risk of transmission.


The symptoms of swine flu in humans are fever, lethargy, diminished appetite and coughing. Some people have also reported a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.


Humantohuman transmission occurs when infected people cough or sneeze. People may also become infected by touching any object, the surface of which is contaminated by the flu virus, and then touching their mouth or nose.


At present, The Public Health Ministry has 3 million antiviral tablets in stock, while the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) has 170,000. If necessary, the GPO can immediately manufacture another 1 million tablets of Oseltamivir because it has the raw materials in stock.


GPO director Witit Artavatkun said infected patients needed to take two tablets per day for five consecutive days.


He said the GPO could deliver the AFlu medicine to Bangkokbased medical facilities within 12 hours. For those outside of Bangkok, delivery could be made within 24 hours.


The World Health Organisation has now advised all countries to intensify their surveillance for unusual outbreaks of flulike illnesses and severe pneumonia.


The outbreak of influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico has already infected more than 658 people in 16 countries around the world. Seventeen people have died.


Disease Control Department spokesman Kumnuan Ungchusak said measures to identify and treat infected patients flying back from outbreak areas was the key to preventing the sickness from spreading in Thailand.


The Health Ministry has now installed six thermal scanners at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and will check every passenger coming through the airport, around the clock.


The scanners have examined 216,448 arriving passengers over the past six days. On Sunday only about 7 of 34,735 arriving passengers were found with high body temperatures, but most were later cleared.


So far, there have been no reported cases of the H1N1 strain of swine flu in Thailand.


When 14 Thais arrived back from Mexico by United Airlines yesterday, the Public Health Ministry sent ambulances to take them from their aircraft to the arrival terminal for medical check ups.


Those of them who passed thermal scanning and physical examinations will be followed by a medical team for a week, Kumnuan said, and those who develop high body temperatures will be placed under close hospital surveillance.


"We suggested that the people who flew back from Mexico should stay at home for at least seven days and the medical team would follow the development of any symptoms. The influenza A (H1N1) virus has an incubation period of three days," Paijit said.


Bureau of Epidemiology chief Pasakorn Akarasewi reported that one Thai woman in her 40s was placed under close surveillance although her initial flutest results were negative. She has now been allowed to go home after tests confirmed that she was suffering from ordinary seasonal influenza.


Pasakorn said the Department of Medical Science had also been examining specimens collected from an 11yearold boy from Buriram, who appeared to be unwell after flying back from New Zealand. He said the boy could also be suffering from seasonal flu.

By Stephanie Nebehay

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/swineFlu/idUSTRE5441IX20090505

GENEVA (Reuters) - More than 150 scientific experts will on Tuesday examine and compare notes on the H1N1 flu virus, including its severity and incubation period, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The WHO's scientific committee will hold a teleconference from 1400 GMT to try to fill gaps in scientific knowledge about the new strain, which the WHO says has officially infected 1,124 people in 21 countries, with Portugal the latest addition.

"It is important that the scientific committee meet to share information and try to understand the incubation period, severity of disease and also what age groups are affected mostly by the new strain," WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib said.

There are no immediate plans to also convene an emergency committee which can recommend changing the pandemic alert level, she told a news briefing in Geneva.

Mexico is considered the epicenter of the outbreak caused by a new combination virus known popularly as "swine flu."

The WHO is keeping a close eye on outbreaks outside North America for signs of sustained human-to-human spread as it tries to decide whether to declare a full-blown pandemic.

TAMIFLU STOCKS BEING DISPATCHED

The United Nations agency also said it would begin sending 2.4 million treatment courses of Tamiflu, an antiviral proven effective against the new flu, on Tuesday to 72 countries deemed in need, including Mexico. [nL5636466]

The Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG donated the stockpiles to the WHO several years ago for use in a possible influenza pandemic. Shipments will be made from "three hubs" -- Switzerland, the U.S. state of Maryland, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Chaib said.

WHO's latest tally includes 590 people confirmed as having the new disease in Mexico, 25 of whom died. The United States has reported 286 laboratory-confirmed cases including one death.

Flu infections without fatalities have been confirmed in the following countries: Austria (1), Britain (18), Canada (140), Hong Kong, China region (1), Costa Rica (1), Colombia (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (4), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (6), Portugal (1), South Korea (1), Spain (54) and Switzerland (1).

The WHO toll lags national reports but is considered more scientifically secure, as it reflects sophisticated tests carried out in its global network of laboratories.

It remains unclear when, or whether, the WHO will raise its pandemic alert to the top of its 6-point scale and activate emergency response plans to fight the new virus.

Last week the WHO raised its pandemic alert level from 3 to 4 and then to 5 in recognition of the transmission of the virus in Mexico and among communities in the United States and Canada. The current phase 5 signals that a pandemic is "imminent."

Keiji Fukuda, WHO acting assistant director general, said on Monday that most people infected in Europe and Asia to date had been to Mexico and did not catch the virus in their communities.