Japanese boy left Malta before showing symptoms of swine flu - health authorities
A Japanese boy who contracted swine flu after holidaying in Malta left the island before he started showing symptoms, the Parliamentary Secretary for Community Care, Mario Galea said.
He said this evening that the six-year-old boy could not have infected anyone while on the island as one needed to have symptoms to be infective. But local authorities are still trying to determine if the boy, who was with his father and brother, stopped in other countries after leaving Malta.
The boy, the Parliamentary Secretary said, started showing symptoms of the disease seven days after leaving Malta. The possibility that he was infected while in Malta was extremely remote since there were no local cases of H1N1.
The boy was one of 30 confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu at a school in the western German city of Dusseldorf .
The World Health Organisation yesterday raised its pandemic alert level to the maximum of six. This is the first pandemic in 41 years.
The head of the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department, Charmaine Gauci, said the authorities were extremely vigilant to be immediately alerted if the virus had to surface in Malta. But a handful of people whose symptoms were suspicious enough to deserve laboratory testing proved negative for the virus.
Swine flu is not considered a severe virus, and the reported deaths were mostly among people with underlying chronic conditions.
The flu originated in Mexico earlier this year and is completely different from avian influenza, which was until recently thought to cause the next influenza pandemic.
Health director general Ray Busuttil said that although swine flu was more severe than seasonal influenza, it was not very severe. While the infection rate was considered to be 25 percent, the same as for H5NI, the mortality rate was only of between two and three percent. This had been worked out at 50 to 60 percent for H5N1.
"We are erring on the side of caution," he said.
In the 24 hours up to 5 p.m. today, 294 new cases were registered in EU and European Free Trade Area countries. 29 cases were registered in other European states and there was the first death in Guatemala and the first cases in Morocco and the occupies Palestinian territories. The flu was in 26 European countries with 12 having less than 10 cases and 10 less than five.
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Andrea Mercieca
Jun 14th 2009, 15:04
@ Karl Abela
With North Korea openly stating that it's enriching uranium for nuclear warheads, your statement regarding World War 3 isn't off track.
Christine Xuereb
Jun 13th 2009, 15:51
@ Stephen Farrugia
Actually it's all in the Bible- read the Book of Revelation !
Robert Chircop
Jun 13th 2009, 06:34
@ Anthony Azzopardi
From the text of the article itself the boy did not have any symptoms in Malta. He developed symptoms more than 7 days after leaving Malta. It is assumed that people with swine flu should develop symptoms within 7 days of contact with a person who has the disease (Case definition of the illness according to WHO). Highly unlikely to have been infected in Malta if there is no one with the disease in the country yet.
Stephen Farrugia
Jun 13th 2009, 00:47
Don't get me wrong, Im no atheist or anything...im pure christian....
But i love mythology...and eversince i've heard about ragnarok, i've been interested in determining the truth about it...
And here it goes....3 consecutive winters: The winter of winters, the winter of Wolves and the winter of Blood...
Wolves - People fighting over money - Recession
Blood - deadly pandemic and Immigration problems
Winters - Global Warming...
>... man i hate to say this, but the end is sure close!
joe camenzuli
Jun 12th 2009, 23:27
I won't be surprised if we have the first case of this flu in the next couple of weeks. Do not believe what people in high authority say. Always take their word with a pinch of salt. The catch phrase 'Don't say anything that alarms the public',
Joe Fenech
Jun 12th 2009, 22:44
It's strange that we are always very lucky. Or are we hiding things???
edward bartolo
Jun 12th 2009, 22:08
Quote: "Japanese boy left Malta before showing symptoms of swine flu..."
This is misleading... the health department should know that viruses need some time for the infected person to start showing symptoms.
The WHO said that it declared a pandemic, because the virus is spreading in many different countries. It also said, that till now, the illness caused by the virus, is a mild one and that, as more people are infected, the virus may change and become more dangerous.
The good news is that, till now, it is not dangerous.
Karl Abela
Jun 12th 2009, 19:35
I think that 2009 will be a year to forget. Biggest recession since World War II First pandemic since 40 years What else? 3rd World War?
Anthony C Azzopardi
Jun 12th 2009, 19:19
PS Mario Galea has confirmed that the Japanese/German young boy did not have any symptoms of the 'swine flu' while in Malta. HOW DOES HE KNOW???
J Axiaq
Jun 12th 2009, 19:12
Are there any measures that are going to be taken to limit the impact that the tourists might bring this summer regarding the flu? And I think that the huge amount of students come to Malta to learn English this summer might have an impact.