Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

H1N1 in Thimphu

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • H1N1 in Thimphu

    H1N1 Influenza A 31 July, 2010 - After surfacing first in the east and infecting hundreds of students as it moved south, the H1N1 flu has now hit the capital.

    The outbreak in Thimphu was confirmed when around 20 students from the institute of language and cultural studies (ILCS) in Semtokha came to the Thimphu referral hospital with flu like symptoms on July 28.

    Head of public health laboratory (PHL) at the hospital, Sonam Wangchuk, said that all four samples, randomly picked from the students tested positive. ?They came with high fever, body ache and cough, which are the symptoms of H1N1,? said Sonam Wangchuk. ?They were all students, who lived in the institute?s hostel.?

    The first outbreak was reported among students in Sherubtse college in June this year, when some 15 students tested positive. The flu then infected about 30 students of the Tashitse higher secondary school in Wamrong, Trashigang.

    By mid July, the flu had caused authorities to close down 20 schools for two weeks in Samtse. By July 24, the flu had reached Dagana and Tsirang, where around 175 were suspected to have reported with flu like symptoms, and two schools closed for a week.

    The flu then surfaced in Lhuentse last week, affecting about 230 students following which three schools were closed for a week.

    ?The infection lasts for about four to five days, that is why we recommend schools to be closed for about a week,? a PHL official said. ?For the first two days, the fever is high enough to make a person bedridden.?

    Thimphu is the sixth dzongkhag to be hit by the flu in about two months time. Health officials said that more cases are expected, as the flu would continue to spread. Pemagatshel, which also reported with 12 suspected cases, was tested negative for H1N1. But, with two schools closed after an outbreak of conjuntivities, Sonam Wangchuk said that Pemagatshel may not see an H1N1 outbreak.

    ?It?s a new virus, many people don?t have immunity against the virus and so they would fall sick,? Sonam Wangchuk said. ?It?s not surprising and it will continue to spread across the population until people develop immunity to the flu.?

    This is also the season for the H1N1 flu, which is most active in humid and warm weather conditions. ?The virus seems to have adopted to the weather conditions here; it has become highly transmissible and is spreading like fire,? said Sonam Wangchuk.

    Health officials said that Bhutan sees two flu seasons a year, pre monsoon and another as the cold months approach.

    Since it is a respiratory disease, the flu, they said, spreads easily in crowded places like schools. It gets worse when an H1N1 infected gets bacterial infection.

    All outbreaks reported so far however did not occur among the vulnerable groups, such as children below two years, old people and those living with chronic diseases. The group was also the first to receive the H1N1 vaccines.

    Sonam Wangchuk said that even those who have received the vaccine would still be infected by the flu. ?But the degree of severity is mild in their cases,? he said.

    Bhutan has however not reported any death from H1N1. To prevent spread of the flu, doctors advise sick people to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, stay home when they are unwell, clean their hands regularly, and keep some distance from healthy people, as much as possible.

Working...
X