Health Minister Rudyard Spencer
Lovelette Brooks and Gareth Manning, Sunday Gleaner Writers
THE VIGILANCE of local health officials has resulted in the detection and treatment of two cases of the H1N1 influenza virus - commonly called swine flu, health officials disclosed yesterday.
"Laboratory reports have confirmed two cases of the H1N1 influenza virus," Health Minister Rudyard Spencer told The Sunday Gleaner in a short telephone interview as health officials held an emergency meeting at the Ministry of Health in downtown Kingston.
In a subsequent press release, the Ministry of Health explained that "two persons who are from St Andrew and St Catherine have been located by personnel from the ministry's surveillance team and the necessary investigations and follow-up visits have taken place. Both persons have recovered satisfactorily. All household contacts have been investigated, samples were taken and they have been declared in good health by the medical teams."
Imported cases
The health ministry noted that the two cases of influenza A have been imported. "The persons had travelled to New York, in the United States, which has recorded a number of confirmed influenza A cases. The cases were quickly detected as a result of the ministry's heightened surveillance and monitoring mechanisms," the ministry stated.
The statement stressed that the ministry's "surveillance and monitoring team has detected no local spread to date".
Since the swine flu first appeared in Mexico in March, Jamaican health officials joined counterparts globally in preparedness mode. The health ministry said it has enhanced its laboratory and health services capacity and have been following the World Health Organisation's mandate for the Phase 5 pandemic alert, including heightened surveillance and early detection and treatment.
Preparedness mode included the screening of arriving passengers at the island's international airports.
One arriving passenger at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston yesterday told The Sunday Gleaner that a woman who seemed to be a public health nurse addressed the passengers in the immigration lines. Each person, the passenger said, was given a card that read 'Health Card Alert'. They were told by the health worker that they should keep the card for the next 14 days and if they showed any sign of influenza, they should take the card to their doctors.
Take precautions
The health ministry is urging persons to continue to take the necessary precautions to protect themselves against any possible influenza infection. These include frequent hand washing with soap and water, covering mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing and avoiding contact with persons with flu-like symptoms.
The public may call the ministry's toll-free line at 1-888-663-5683 for more information about influenza A (H1N1).
Human cases of a new form of influenza virus have been identified in 40 countries. The influenza is a swine influenza A virus. The World Health Organisation has declared the swine influenza situation to be a public-health emergency of international concern.
The swine flu first appeared in Mexico in March, with now hundreds of cases confirmed in that country. Dozens of those have resulted in death.
The World Health Organisation raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29. Phase 5 is a "strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalise the organisation, communication and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
The official count of probable cases in the US as of Friday, May 29, was 8,975 in 49 states with 15 deaths. However, the total number of people infected in the country is estimated to be as high as 100,000, says CDC spokesman Joe Quimby, taking into account those who were sick but didn't seek medical care.
Swine influenza is derived from an animal influenza virus, which means that humans will likely have little or no immunity.
There has been a rapid spread to multiple communities overseas.
Swine influenza is affecting unusual age groups (healthy, young adults).
The swine influenza A virus is thought to be sensitive to the new antiviral drugs oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), but resistant to both amantadine and rimantadine.
The symptoms of swine influenza are similar to normal influenza (fever, cough, tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat, chills, shortness of breath, runny nose, headache). Some cases of swine influenza have also complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. In some cases, swine influenza can result in a severe pneumonia. Symptoms of influenza generally appear between two to four days after exposure.
As the new swine influenza strain has only been identified recently, a human vaccine for swine influenza is not yet available. Existing vaccines for normal human influenza will probably not provide protection against swine influenza. Scientists worldwide are working to develop a suitable human vaccine against swine influenza A (H1N1), however a vaccine is not expected to become available in the near future.
Until a vaccine becomes available, the best method of prevention will be to ensure that everyone washes his or her hands regularly and thoroughly, steps away from others when coughing or sneezing, coughs or sneezes into tissues and stays away from people who are sick.
Contact your local public health unit, or general practitioner (GP), or go to your nearest emergency department. If you have visited a country with confirmed cases of swine flu since March and are unwell with a respiratory illness (fever and cough), contact your GP by telephone.
If swine flu is suspected, you will be asked to isolate yourself from others to prevent further infection.
Swine influenza virus infection can be diagnosed using swabs from the nose and throat. Testing is done at a specialised laboratory.