Swine flu rises by 15 new cases, many in Gozo

Alistair Duncan

Jul 9th 2009, 09:45

nistaqsi ma nafx ilala,issa il kazijiet vunerabli biss biss ha jiehu ittestjati sewwa,dan kollu ghalfejn ghax forsi l awtoritajiet qed jahsbu li sitwazzjoni ha tahrab min taht idejhom.Nistaqsi u nitnixxef f dan il pajjiz.

Josef Schembri

Jul 9th 2009, 08:42

This morning i happened to see coverage of the press release issued by Gharb Local Council on Timesofmalta website in the latest news section but now it has vanished !!! Is this the coverage we want to give to Gozo in these difficult times ?

Christian V. Sciberras

Jul 8th 2009, 16:13

Relieving some of the confusions; h1n1 like it's h3n2 counter part can be caught pretty quick.
Like common influenza (h3n2) "swine" flu infects pretty quick, not at the touch of infected surface, but rather after touching certain sensitive areas (eyes, nose, mouth).
As to the hype about it, it isn't particularly dangerous (at least, as of now). The hype is because it is mostly unknown.
Why take serious precautions? Washing hands before eating, sneezing into a tissue... should be common practices anyway. Does it require some hype to make us use such practices?
Know that "pandemic" does not imply "panic". As described, the virus did spread pretty quick. If you want REAL, GOOD and RELIABLE information, visit:
http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

Kind regards.

chris vidal

Jul 8th 2009, 10:10

the number of cases seems that is increasing but this is a cumulative number and people that already recovered are within the total number. This is a statistic of the number of infected persons including the first one reported. It could be that the number is more at any given time, because this statistic only includes tested individuals. Most important is that this statistic is showing that until now this virus is nothing more than a normal influenza, just a new strain....and new but similar strains also crop up every couple of years. It is useless to create panic and life must go on as it does every year during influenza season.
as for cameras in airports there are some places that are using it as in greece. as such it is not that effective especially that it is done on arrival after the infected person possibly infected others in the closed environment of the aircraft. infected individuals during the flight are not detected by cameras and so can develop symptoms and become infective while in the country.

J Agius

Jul 8th 2009, 10:05

No need for panic. Yet, the effects of the A(H1N1) virus are also economic. Though the virus may not be that fatal, once the number of infected citizens increases, absenteeism from work can increase. This may affect the levels of production/competition and the probable non delivery of critical services. As the number of patients increases, the level of medical services required to manage the virus increases. All this and more comes at a cost.

When the outbreak kicked off in Mexico health employees refused to care for infected patients out of fear of getting infected. In the US, parents of infected kids stayed home to care for their kids and didn’t report to work. Some were dismissed and had to challenge the issue in court. People are human and in panic the problem of fear cannot be ignored.

When the number of infected patients starts to increase at a fast pace, people may decline to act normally.

Thus, it is not a matter of being alarmist but a matter of assessing the probable scenarios. Assessing the risks is an essential process of management, whether public (political), social (community) or Industrial & Financial (business).

A de Barro

Jul 8th 2009, 08:57

You are complaining about airports and tourists... what about us guides who deal with cruise liner arrivals every week with guests coming from Mexico, Venezuela, Spain and a multitude of countries....do you honestly think that each person boarding or leaving the ship is checked for the flu?? they spray the coaches but that isnt enough.. and the airconditioning in the coaches whihc consists of regurgitated air from filters that bus drivers cant be bothered to clean out every day??
One can only hope and try and be careful but...we cant afford not to work either.

M. Buhagiar

Jul 8th 2009, 08:43

Can some competent authority give us some clear information about what is going on with this swine flu and what really needs to be done? I've been following news items, statements from the Department of Health, and reading comments from the general public. And I am so very confused about the whole issue. At one point I'm being told not to panic, then I'm told to take precautions seriously, to be responsible. I hear that infected people are recovering, yet the number of cases is increasing drastically. We are told to avoid crowds, but then, at the same time, one can get it simply by touching a lift button. Statements being made are often contradictory. I really can't understand anything and really don't know what to do. At least can the authorities tell us truly how serious it is if one gets infected, and who is most prone to being infected?

P Agius

Jul 8th 2009, 08:35

So a feast in Gharb was responsible for almost half of the cases.. ....but the MTV concert is ok for the authorities..........IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO MONEY (i.e. ECONOMY).

C.R. Taliana

Jul 8th 2009, 08:13

@Alan Cassar. I think you are mistaken about the airport. A friend of mine went to China last week and she said that she had her temperature measured three times before being allowed to leave the arrivals area. I don't know if this a normal procedure in China or if it is related to H1N1. I agree with you on the fact that panic is useless and just causes havoc. I would however feel better if I knew that the Health Authorities were planning on getting more Tamiflu and medicines to cure this flu.

godfrey Pace

Jul 8th 2009, 07:56

The Health Dept says avoid crowds yet there is no need to cancel the concert tonight of Ilse of MTV where there will be so many tourists present who came over especially to see the show. This is a contradiction ! I wonder how many will have the will power to keep away. It is very difficult, especially if you are young. This will increase the number of infected people within the next few days. We will see !

MMuscat

Jul 8th 2009, 07:50

I do strongly suggest that we really should avoid big concerts. i know it's painful for organizers, but this is health what we're talking about. Weak people that get swine flu will be at risk, so it would be very foolish if we don't tell the people, that mass activities should be avoided. As stately said 39 cases is high. In Gharb the virus spread in a village festa...! Imagine how a virus can spread in a huge concert where people are huffing and puffing on each other..Be careful.

Brian Hansford

Jul 8th 2009, 01:23

since i did the program last Thursday on swine flu we have seen the number of persons contacting this virus growing each day.

@Alfred Cassar some airports do check , they have heat sensors and every person that passes through his or her temperature is taken and those with a high temperature are stopped, i must admit that they are only 27% accurate still to me they are 27% more than what we have in malta and they only cost 38,000 each as was confirmed by the director of health ray Busuttil during Realta' . during the program Dr Chairmaine Gauchi stressed that we should avoid crowds.
on Thursday the last program of Realta' will be a repeat of last WEEKS program due to the high demand for it to be repeated , there will also be an update during the program on Thursday on One TV at 21.45pm

R.Zahra

Jul 8th 2009, 00:14

Please note that it is more risky if Tamiflu is given unnecessarily cos it will make the virus more resistant and therefore more dangerous. In the UK, they are now treating swine flu as a common flu and not giving mediation unless it is deemed serious.. this is taken from the BBC website: 'The NHS London spokesman said: "Once again we wish to take this opportunity to remind the public that for most people this is a minor illness and that they should start to feel better after a few days without needing to go to their GP or A&E. ' Lets not create mass hysteria!

Ronnie Gauci

Jul 7th 2009, 23:55

The Maltese are very social people, especially in Summer, so this virus will find it easier to spread than in other "cold" countries. I'll expect a steep rise by the end of this week due to The Isle of MTV concert as approximately 40,000 persons (10% of the population) will all be crammed in one place.

Chris Vella

Jul 7th 2009, 22:15

@all..one should seek proper information/advice about Swine flu before jumping to the conclusion that this type of flu will kill us all! The following extract is from the BBC news website:

How dangerous is it [Swine Flu]?

So far, most cases of swine flu around the world appear to be mild, albeit with diarrhoea more common than it is with seasonal flu.

The WHO says that many people who develop symptoms of infection have not needed drugs to make a full recovery.

Flu expert Professor Peter Openshaw, of Imperial College London, says about one in every three people who become infected will not realise they have had swine flu because they will have had no or only very few symptoms.

"About about 98% of people who get infected will recover fully without any hospital treatment so I think the public needs to be reassured."

The real fear is that the strain will mutate and become more virulent which would pose a greater threat. However, it is still worth remembering that seasonal flu often poses a serious threat to public health - each year it kills 250,000 - 500,000 around the world.

Simon Grima

Jul 7th 2009, 22:14

I tend to agree with Konrad Abela's concern... it is not panic but responsibility...I think we should not increase the risk of letting the virus spread and mutate..

A. Curmi

Jul 7th 2009, 22:00

@ Mark Mifsud

I didn't say that we shouldn't treat them so don't misquote me, what I suggested is that we should regain the medical provisions lost to foreigners, since not enough tamiflu and relenza were ordered imo. In the case of Maltese Australians they all have Australain citizenship if they have lived there for a number or years. My idea only referred to cases of actual citizenship and domicile in Malta, as far as I know when the Maltese population is calculated actual habitants of Malta and Gozo are counted; Maltese Australians and other examples are excluded from such counts. Out of the 39 cases so far, there were about 4 foreign cases which is 10% of all cases; if the rate continues at this pace which is increasing very very fast we will run out of provisions in no time. It may sound stupid but I am just concerned since in 1 day there were 15 new cases and there seems to be no proof that this flu can be cured in another way apart from tamiflu and relenza.

Konrad Abela

Jul 7th 2009, 21:35

I agree with certain people saying that we should not panic. Panicking will not rid us off the swine flu. We should regard this issue with due discipline and concern. It seems that people who got the flu are already getting better which is a good sign, yet I think it is still too early to hail 'victory'. The real problem will arise ( i hope it will not ) once the flu will evolve and become immune to tamiflu. I heard comments stating that one should not miss out on festi or concerts as the flu is not as bad as it seems. I personally believe this is so irresponsible. We should do our utmost to prevent the spreading of the flu until we rid of it before it evolves causing more havoc and deaths.

Alfred Cassar

Jul 7th 2009, 21:33

We dont have to panic and we shouldnt. Other countries are living with it business as usual. After all this is just another type of influenza. Some people seem to want that we Maltese are closed in some kind of place cut off from the rest of the world.
@Alan Debattista
When you went out of Malta were you screened when you arrived at the airport of the country you visited. No airport in the world is screening/checking people entering their country, that doesnt make sense at all.... imagine the hassle and queues

Carmel Saliba

Jul 7th 2009, 21:32

Is it ethical that these infected persons are published the villages from they come from? Especially those coming from a small village as Gharb where everybody knows each other.

Many youths in Gozo drink from the same container by using the same straw during a village festa or social gatherings. Maybe in Malta do the same.

Will the Health Division gives us a clear way how the cross infection happened in Gozo? If the source of infection was as I said above, then the swine flu might also be transmitted by either foreign persons or by Maltese/Gozitans visiting other countries.

Mark Mifsud

Jul 7th 2009, 21:09

@ A. Curmi

It may have escaped you but we did join the EU. As far as I know most if not all of the foreigners who tested positive are from EU nationals and hence have the same right to medical care as the rest of us.

And even if they werent EU nationals what are you suggesting exactly? That we ship medical provisions to Australia whenever a Maltese citizen happens to be tested positive down under? Not a very efficient system is it? A patient is a patient for crying out loud!

A. Borg

Jul 7th 2009, 20:59

I think that with the rate it's increasing everyday the supply we have of Tamiflu which is of 25% of the population might not be enough. Health Dept. please note.

Paul Azzopardi

Jul 7th 2009, 20:41

Go ahead make my day go to the Isle of Mtv tomorrow. A small feast in Gharb caused a Havoc. How about thousands of persons exhaling their breath in your face within a few metres from you. I am still waiting for a decent comment on this by the health department.

Tanja Sullivan

Jul 7th 2009, 20:37

well you heared it folks from horses mouth.. its on the rise.. and its not good news. i feel sorry for the people that regardless of these warnings are still attending gatherings and confined places, i for one will not be seen in any restaurants, churches, or any festivities in Gozo or Malta, not just yet or the time being in ay case, hopefully when the danger has passed and it will, but in the mean time we are staying put and not travelling anywhere in the world.

L.Borg

Jul 7th 2009, 20:30

tourists are getting the flu as well... we dont have seriouse airports to check wheather they have the flu or not.....

A. Curmi

Jul 7th 2009, 20:26

Hope they all get well, since nothing is being reported on whether any of these 39 cases are now fully cured or not. Also there is quiet a no. of cases being treated in Malta which are from foreign countries, now if I am correct the provisions we have do not cover the whole Maltese population and in such cases we are giving out from our own provisions to other foreigners and so decreasing medical provisions to our own citizens. Is something being done in regards to foreign cases to get medical provisions back from these countries in order to control our provisions; especially now that the flu is spreading here so fast.

Alan Debattista

Jul 7th 2009, 20:24

What exactly are we waiting for before we see how this can be properly controlled? Do you think it's enough to monitor the situation???? I just came from abroad this afternoon and still no precations at all at the airport!!! Are we going to stay waiting for things to get worse, and maybe get out of control too, before the relevant authories make a move???? Well, nothing new .... won't be the first time!!

John Azzopardi

Jul 7th 2009, 20:12

This sudden sharp rise in cases seems to indicate that the flu was here before and people might have had the flu and were none the wiser, without any ill-effects. Now that people have become aware everyone is panicking. We do we not usually publicise cases of normal flu? This flu is not much different from normal flu. Normal flu can kill people too, and it does, every year. Why the panic this year!

Marie Agius

Jul 7th 2009, 20:07

It is easy to chat chat chat, when one has no idea of how it feels to get stuck indoors and feel horribly sick, while still having to keep up hygiene and take care of your loved ones.

The effects of the virus vary from one person to another. Even though it is like all other seasonal flu’s we should really help each other by being honest, staying healthy and being hygienic. If anyone has symptoms please contact the health department. This is the only way we can positively help our country and be responsible

As a mother, my advice to all other new mothers who have little babies and have the opportunity to BREAST FEED please do not miss out on this. It is the baby’s right to feed on his own mother’s milk. Breast milk can save your baby not only from the swine flu but from many other viruses and bacteria.

It is healthy to eat garlic, ginger, curry and take vitamin C . Honey and vinegar helps too.
Good luck everyone!

Stephen Scicluna

Jul 7th 2009, 19:18

Just checked the WHO site. In relation to our size and population, the number of cases in Malta is very high, compared to other European countries - with a population of 400,000 and 39 cases - Examples: Austria has 19 cases, Belgium 54, Bulgaria 10, Croatia 1, Finland 47, Hungary 11, Iceland 4, Luxembourg 6, Lithuania 3, Poland 25, Russia 3, etc. OK Greece, UK, Germany, France, Spain have hundreds or thousands of cases, But still I think that more concrete measures should be considered - e.g closure of summer schools, and concerts (whatever the financila costs are) - Better Safe Than Sorry.

k curmi

Jul 7th 2009, 19:08

thanks to the department of healt we are more aware of what we shall do and what we shouldn't do. thanks for the news that you are giving us

A.Tabone

Jul 7th 2009, 18:24

This is a very funny and ironic situation !!! Whilst the cases just began to increase... they are already on the decrease with people getting better. I still cannot get the hype! Can someone please explain? Am I being placid ?