'Do not panic,' health minister urges

ABU DHABI // The Minister of Health urged people not to panic about swine flu and insisted the emirates would have enough of the vaccine to control the impact of the H1N1 virus. At a public meeting yesterday, Dr Hanif Hassan revealed that the death toll had risen to six after two further deaths were confirmed yesterday morning.

A 75-year-old woman and an eight-month-old baby were the latest victims of the virus. Dr Hassan emphasised that most of the deaths have occurred in the high risk groups. Urging people not to overreact, he said: "The situation is under control; do not panic. I think the country made all the right efforts to prepare for the virus at the beginning. "The point is [the virus] is here; it is wherever you go in the world. So we must remember that it does not need to be dangerous if it is found and treated early. The death rate is very low."

The meeting in Abu Dhabi was attended by officials from the Ministry of Labour and education authorities, as well as members of the media. When asked about an apparent lack of transparency in releasing statistics and updates on the pandemic, Dr Hassan said it was focusing its efforts on raising awareness in the public field, rather than releasing figures. He explained that it can take up to three weeks for the H1N1 virus to be confirmed as a cause of death, and that the ministry would not release any official information until it had all the details in order to avoid unnecessary panic.

Dr Ali bin Shakar, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and chairman of the National Committee to Combat Swine Flu, said the UAE was not focusing on collecting the numbers of individual cases, in line with guidance from the World Health Organisation. He also said the plans for prioritising administration of the vaccine, which is expected to be ready from October onward, had not been finalised as the situation was "still changing".

"We have already ordered enough vaccine to cover between 10 and 15 per cent of the population in line with recommendations from the World Health Organisation," he said. "We will also implement it following the recommendations." He declined to comment on which at-risk groups the ministry would vaccinate first, or how the vaccination programme would work. He also said the UAE was one of the first countries anywhere to place an order for the vaccine with an international pharmaceutical company, but would not say which. The World Health Organisation has said that health workers should be among the first to be vaccinated, followed by other at-risk groups. The health minister emphasised raising awareness through various media channels, schools and health facilities.

A number of H1N1 public health materials have been printed including posters, leaflets and a public health television advert. These have been distributed in schools, malls and mosques. Dr Mohammad Mattar al Qabi, director of the Abu Dhabi Religious Affairs Authority, said people had been educated in mosques about prevention, including advice to avoid the traditional Emirati nose greeting. He also said the fatwa hotline received, on average, 4,500 phone calls each month and that everyone who called would be educated about the influenza.

The ministry has also released strict guidelines for schools, including protocols on following up on any pupils who are off sick and setting up an isolation room for pupils who appear ill at school. It has issued instructions that schools must contact parents of absent children to establish exactly what is wrong. Strict guidelines have also been released in time for haj. Pilgrims will be required to fill out a health form as a prerequisite to being allowed on the journey. In order to re-enter the UAE the pilgrim will need to fill out another form detailing their health condition while they were at haj.

All the GCC health ministers decided last month to ban children, the elderly and those with chronic diseases from taking the trip to Mecca. Information on preventive measures will also be issued in Friday sermons, taraweeh (night prayers during Ramadan), religious lectures, posters on vehicles belonging to haj and umrah tour operators and haj information packs. "People should not panic but they should be careful," Dr Shakar said. "There is no need for people to panic; just check for symptoms and get treated. People should be rational and have an open mind."

The delegates at yesterday's meeting dismissed reports that schools would close because of the H1N1 virus and said some had already "overreacted". Dr Ali bin Shakar, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and chairman of the National Committee to Combat Swine Flu, said: "We have got a full curriculum for training and ways to deal with any suspected cases." Health and education authorities have been holding training sessions for school staff to prepare them for any potential outbreaks of the virus. Fact sheets including everything from hygiene tips to step-by-step guides on how to handle a suspected case have been handed out to every school, Dr Shakar said.

A number of schools have informed parents of temporary closures as a precautionary measure but have not reported any positive cases. "We have given out lots of documents and there wasn't a single one which said close the school. Closing schools has been overreaction." munderwood@thenational.ae