Swine Flu to Sweep Luderitz?

Test confirm that Swine Flu has hit Luderitz.

Last week, The School for Visually Impaired in Windhoek was temporarily closed down after 65 children and 4 teachers were taken ill with confirmed H1Nn1 Swine Flu. Two Students from Luderitz High School have also been confirmed to have contracted the virus and are currently recovering in Keetmanshoop.

Of 5 laboratory results available in Luderitz, at the time of going to press, 4 have been confirmed positive for H1Nn1. In response to the outbreak in Windhoek at The School for Visually Impaired, the Ministry of Health and Social Services has conducted tests to confirm that the outbreak which is currently being experienced in Windhoek and Keetmanshoop is also in Luderitz. Blanket screening is not planned and cases that fulfil the criteria for diagnosis are being managed as Swine Flu. None of the cases in Luderitz have suffered life threatening complications, in contrast to the world wide experience in 2009.

Luderitz’s schools have felt the strain, at Brightstart Lower Elementary, almost 50% of the students were absent on the Friday before midterm break, and at the High School the increased absences have made preparation for exams more difficult.

What are the Symptoms of Swine flu? Symptoms for H1Nn1 are similar to, but more severe than seasonal flu; fever, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pains, fatigue, dizziness and chest symptoms. The current H1Nn1 also includes intestinal symptoms that are not commonly present with seasonal flu, including nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

What to do in the case of contracting Swine flu? Swine Flu is treated much the same as seasonal flu, but patients should be aware that the likelihood of complications arising is higher with H1Nn1.

Therefore one should stress that those afflicted with the illness must be vigilant and be aware that the virus can in some cases develop severe complications such as an asthma-like illness or pneumonia which must be picked up early. If you believe you have developed a complication, respond more quickly than normal and visit your regular health provider
immediately. Since health services are on the alert and managing suspected cases as positive, there does notseem to be cause for immediate alarm.

How can it be prevented? Transmission is mainly as a result of person to person contact which may include an airborne route (coughing and sneezing) and hand contact, which also includes transmission by mutually handled surfaces. Ill persons should isolate themselves as far as practical from well people and both the ill and the well should practice regular hand washing. In May this year, countrywide H1Nn1 immunizations were given to high risk people such as babies, the elderly, people with chronic ailments and those with a depressed immune system. Currently, there are no left over doses for late administration.