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UPDATE 2: Malta denies link to German H1N1 flu cases

Information held by the German authorities about an H1N1 patient who had reportedly been to Malta recently was only preliminary and no detailed information was available yet, Parliamentary Secretary Mario Galea said today.

Reuters quoted medical authorities in Duesseldorf as saying this morning that 30 cases of the H1N1 flu had been reported at a school in the city, the most concentrated outbreak of the virus so far in Europe's largest economy. One of the students had recently been to Malta.

Mr Galea insisted that Malta had no reported cases of the virus.

"We are in constant contact with the German authorities but their information is only preliminary. They have told us they still need to look into this student's itinerary and who he could have been in contact with, and where," Mr Galea told timesofmalta.com.

The parliamentary secretary, who is heading the government's preparations against any outbreak of the virus, reiterated that the Maltese authorities investigated even the slightest suspicion of the flu, but nothing has turned up.

He also pointed out that the Health Department had today started mailing to all households an information leaflet on precautions which the people could take against H1N1. The leaflet was printed 10 days ago but its mailing was postponed amid fears that it would be thrown away by people as it got mixed up with the election mail shots.

The health ministry in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia was reported saying this morning that the majority of the cases at a Japanese school in the city were detected yesterday evening.

Additional confirmed infections were likely to emerge, said Kathrin Rebbe, a spokesman for the ministry.

Parents of the infected children and people who had been in contact with them would be tested today, said Heiko Schneitler, head of the city health's authority. Most of the children affected were Japanese, he said.

The children are now in quarantine, he added.

The school has been closed until the end of next week, said Hiromi Kida, a senior official at the school.

Duesseldorf is home to a large Japanese community.

Rebbe at the NRW health ministry said four additional cases of H1N1 had been been detected at a school in nearby Cologne.

Germany had 86 confirmed cases of H1N1 prior to the school infections, according to the Robert Koch Institute, the country's federal agency for infectious diseases.

VIRUS ALERT LEVEL RAISED

Meanwhile, after the WHO this afternoon declared declared the H1N1 virus a pandemic, the Health Pandemic Committee and National Strategic Pandemic Committee met to review the state of local preparations and the possible impact of the virus on Malta.

The authorities reiterated that no cases had been reported in Malta.

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Comments

Joe Fenech (on 13/6/09)
What precautions are being taken in schools, workplaces? Other EU countries have taken precautions AGES ago!
Maryann Vella (on 13/6/09)
Interesting article , but what struck me was the fact that pamphlets relating to precautionery methods to be taken re: swine flu, were not distributed when they should have been distributed because it was feared they would be thrown away along with all the election campaign leaflets that households were receiving.

This only goes to prove that the majority of people don't bother to read the mountain of paper that is slipped through their letter-boxes. Politicians should realise that this is a waste of paper and money the distribution of important pamphlets such as the ones concerning swine fever, was put on the back burner.
Mariella Galea (on 13/6/09)
If the H1N1 has not yet arrived here we have to be very thankful indeed... but in the meantime does MIA have a thermal imaging system to monitor people coming in with a high fever?

I can only say one thing - In December and again a month ago children in of a certain CHURCH school had Scarlet Fever, but the School was not closed because parents where told not to tell the authorities and keep it hush hush.

In this way in Malta there might be H1N1 but being the Tourist season it would scare all the Tourists away.

Michael Bonello (on 12/6/09)
Nobody is pointing fingers at anybody in any articles.... Inserting thermal imaging in airports etc for what?? do what afterwards?? keep in quarantine everybody who might be having a slight fever for a couple of days until they get swabbed and confirmed flu +ve or negative??? Its declared a pandemic.. anybody knows what it means?? it doesn't mean people are dying left right and centre, its just about distribution, and that it is distributed around the whole world, and there is no way to stop it, as it is very contagious. It has been shown that mortality is pretty mild. I'm more wondering whether the health services in Malta are ready. If there is a suspected swine flu what happens?? Will this guy rush straight to hospital, with a likely chance of infecting everybody there including healthcare workers?? Is there a service that allows GPs to go and swab such people and are the labs ready? Is there a supply of proper masks? (not normal surgical masks) and was the Medical staff trained to use them???
Alfred Farrugia (on 12/6/09)

Do all the airports and seaports in Germany have a thermal imaging system to monitor people coming in with a high fever? If not, how can the German authorities know whether patients contracted the H1N1 virus before they arrived in Germany, and not afterwards, somewhere else in Germany itself? Are we monitoring visitors who are coming from countries where the H1NI virus has been detected?

Perhaps the time has come for thermal imaging systems similar to the one below to be installed at the airport and seaport, in the interests of ourselves and our visitors, including cruise passengers. Fortunately, the majority of cases are not very serious, but the situation could change.

http://www.tempsensornews.com/thermal_imaging/system-for-swine-fluh1n1-detection-more/


Roland Schaffrath (on 12/6/09)
I think one has to qualify the term "pointing finger" here.

I understood previous comments as if someone was "blaming" Malta. In that respect no article is pointing the finger towards Malta. How could someone. It's a virus. It spreads without respecting boarders.

Mentioning where the family travelled to and from on the other hand is giving a valid and important information to prevent it from spreading.

Leo Said (on 12/6/09)
Friday, 12 June, 06.40h

@ Herr Schaffrath

In the 06.00h news that was broadcast by WDR 2, which is located in North Rhine Westphalia, as is Düsseldorf, there was again mention of Malta.

46 schoolchildren attending the Japanese International School in Düsseldorf are now considered to be suffering from swine flu.
jcmicallef (on 12/6/09)
guys, you ever been to germany?

that country has a frontier that 's used by ppl from all over the world. there are ppl coming in and out in many thousands every day, so for them to report about the student that had been to Malta was like turning to the final straw when there was already a ton on the camel's back.

We are relatively isolated compared to countries in the continent. Of course, does not mean we're immune.

True, this should still be taken seriously by maltese authorities to take all necessary precautions. I hope they have in fact checked where this student was in Malta.
Caroline Galea (on 11/6/09)
The German newspapers better get thir facts right before pointing their Father land finger at Malta. Its not nice and this will no doubt will be read by would be visitors who we rely on so badly especially in Gozo.
Roland Schaffrath (on 11/6/09)
According to German Papers and Websites a Japanese family of four went end of May to Gozo for a weeks holiday. On their return to Duesseldorf both boys aged three and six years old showed signs of flu. Their blood samples tested positive for the Influenza A H1N1 virus. And so did the sample of their father. Their mother did not contract the virus. Unfortunately they had already attended their Japanese school in Duesseldorf Niederkassel after they showed first signs of flu and beginning of this week seven pupils tested positive for the swine flu virus. Today there are 32 cases in the very school. In the German Press I did not find one article so far pointing the finger towards Malta. Possibilities like having contracted the virus on the plane or at the airport (departure and arrival) or even after the journey in Duesseldorf are not dismissed. But information is the only weapon against the virus.
Alfred Farrugia (on 11/6/09)

Is there any possibility that this German student could have been infected before he came to Malta? Do the authorities know this student’s identity? Do they know where he was staying and for how long.? Do they have any idea with whom such a student was in contact with and the places he visited while in Malta?

Perhaps the time has come for our authorities to set up the appropriate equipment at the airport and the seaport that might give an indication of people that could be running a high temperature. This equipment was used at the airport in Singapore during the time of the Avian flu a few years ago.

It is in the interests of the visitors and ourselves to monitor the situation and take immediate action before the H1N1 virus spreads or gets out of hand.


Leo Said (on 11/6/09)
Thursday, 11 June

I have just watched the 15.00h news on German National TV and Malta was indeed mentioned by name.

Would it not be the urgent duty of the Embassy of Malta in Berlin to counter-act officially?
Simon Marks (on 11/6/09)
dude, did you even read the article? Who exactly is blaming who? why do people on this site always have to complain about something?

If it is a fact that they have 30 students that are sick and one of them recently was in malta, shoud they just ignore it? Its actually good that they say soemthing so the local authorities can check if people he was in contact with are effected.
G. Cappitta (on 11/6/09)
@ jmicallef

Nobody is pointing fingers at anyone here. I think you have mis-interpreted the article or the article's title.
Etienne Bonanno (on 11/6/09)
@jmicallef
This is not a question of apportioning blame to Malta. If this patient genuinely contacted the disease here, then I think the authorities should know about it asap so that adequate precautions can be taken.
bryan sullivan (on 11/6/09)
ok so let us try to help out the german authorities.......thirty minus one is twenty nine ! any chance on anyone checking where these twenty nine were before alluding to the one who was in malta . they might actually discover that they were in ....perhaps germany !
J Grima (on 11/6/09)
One shouldn't be perceiving this as an all-out attack against Malta. This is a very delicate situation and they are trying to contain the virus.

If the German authorities reported that one of the students had recently been in Malta then it's nothing but an eye opener. They are not 'blaming' Malta for anything. A country has nothing to do with the spread of a virus.
jcmicallef (on 11/6/09)
Thats very nice of them to try to put the fault on the Maltese.

Very EU-friendly indeed. !

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