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  • Influenza A/H1N1 cases found in Gaza: officials



    Influenza A/H1N1 cases found in Gaza: officials


    www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-06 19:09:48 Print

     GAZA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Influenza A/H1N1 cases have been found in Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territories, and hit at least five people amid blackout by the coastal enclave's Islamist rulers, Palestinian health officials said Sunday.

    Omar al-Nasser, media director at the health ministry in the West Bank, said five patients have reported to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza city suffering from the virus, including two serious cases.

    On Saturday, Hamas health officials said the patients have suffered regular flu, which is common in this time of the year.

    But Dr. al-Nasser said that "the coup powers (Hamas) imposes a blackout and block accurate information" to prevent his ministry from carrying out its services in Gaza.

    Al-Nasser revealed that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) had sent 6,000 vaccines to Gaza to be used for medical crews and pilgrims who had performed the annual Hajj to Mecca.

    In the West Bank, 1,200 Palestinians have been infected by the A/H1N1 virus and nine of them had passed away.

  • #2
    Re: Influenza A/H1N1 cases found in Gaza: officials

    Gaza health officials report first 5 cases of swine flu, UN warns of vaccine shortage

    DIAA HADID, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    December 06, 2009 12:48 p.m.

    Gaza health officials on Sunday confirmed the territory's first five cases of swine flu, but the World Health Organization said there is not enough vaccine for health workers.

    Gaza health official Dr. Hassan Khalaf said the five patients were diagnosed Sunday.

    The relatively late arrival of swine flu to the Gaza Strip is likely attributable to the same measure that has brought shortages and hardships otherwise - a strict blockade imposed by Israel since the Islamic militant Hamas overran the territory in 2007, expelling forces loyal to Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas.

    Shortages include medicines, but Israel insists it does not limit shipment of medical supplies to Gaza. Instead, Palestinians say the rivalry between Hamas and Abbas' Palestinian Authority could be to blame.

    The Palestinian Authority is responsible for sending medicines to Gaza, but officials there way Abbas' government routinely keeps Gaza in short supply.

    One key shortage is swine flu vaccine.

    Senior WHO official Mahmoud Daher said Gaza has only 1,000 vaccine doses for around 8,000 health employees, serving 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

    West Bank Health Ministry official Dr. Asad Ramlawi denied that the shortage is deliberate. He said 1 million doses would be arriving between mid-December and late January, and they would be divided between the two territories.

    Daher said there was no need for panic, and that patients with chronic diseases, the elderly and pregnant women should be vigilant about their hygiene.

    However, at Shifa Hospital, Gaza City's largest, an Associated Press reporter saw doctors and nurses refusing to go near a young woman believed to have the virus.

    The young woman's family had to carry her to the isolation ward on a stretcher.

    Ramlawi said 1,250 cases of swine flu have been reported in the West Bank. In neighbouring Israel, the number is over 3,000.

    "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
    -Nelson Mandela

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    • #3
      Re: Influenza A/H1N1 cases found in Gaza: officials

      <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///D:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CADMINI%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5 Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:RelyOnVML/> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> I have been waiting for H1N1(2009) to arrive in Gaza as it is ? regretfully ? the perfect lab to see what happens if you create the worst possible scenario. There are 1.5 million people in one of the densest populations on the planet. Most live on less than 2$ a day, nutrition is poor, there are very few basic over the counter medicines. They have no ability to move out of danger, no primary health care facilities worthy of the name, no antivirals or vaccine. They all live within a few miles of a modern state with a European standard of living from which we will be able to see what happens.
      Now we find out what an unregulated H1N1(2009) epidemic is actually like. If I was religious my prayers would be with them.

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      • #4
        Re: Influenza A/H1N1 cases found in Gaza: officials

        باء المعلومات باللغة العربية هنا :

        باء المعلومات باللغة العربية هنا :

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