:: H1N1: Merebak di Brunei

Jumaat, 31 Julai 2009 (MEDIA PERMATA)

Influenza A (H1N1) kini jadi jangkitan komuniti
Oleh Sim Y. H.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Khamis - Kementerian Kesihatan hari ini mengumumkan pendekatan baru dalam usaha mempertingkatkan strategi dan tindakan pengawalan wabak Influenza A (H1N1). Wabak penyakit itu yang sudah merebak di Brunei kini menjadi jangkitan komuniti di kalangan masyarakat menyebabkan kementerian beralih kepada Fasa Perlindungan dan Rawatan sebagai usaha bagi menanganinya, kata kementerian dalam kenyataan.

Antara langkah yang diambil ialah memberikan rawatan antiviral seperti Tamiflu kepada pesakit yang mempunyai tanda-tanda jangkitan influenza dan berisiko tinggi tanpa memerlukan pengesahan ujian makmal.

Kementerian Kesihatan juga menyatakan sejak kes pertama influenza A (H1N1) dilaporkan pada 20 Jun, sebanyak 786 kes dilaporkan dengan 698 kes telah sembuh, 46 kes menerima rawatan di rumah, 13 kes menerima rawatan di hospital dan 28 kes masih dalam siasatan.

Bagaimanapun kementerian berkata jumlah sebenar jangkitan Influenza A (H1N1) di Brunei dijangkakan lebih tinggi kerana ujian makmal dalam Fasa Perlindungan dan Rawatan hanya akan dibuat bagi mereka yang berisiko tinggi sahaja.

Selain dari itu, Kementerian Kesihatan juga mengambil langkah meneruskan pemantauan penyakit influenza di pusat-pusat kesihatan, mengehadkan pelawat-pelawat yang melawat pesakit di hospital, menasihati orang ramai mengasingkan diri mereka dari orang lain dan mengurangkan interaksi sosial jika mempunyai tanda-tanda penyakit influenza serta mempertingkatkan amalan kebersihan diri dan persekitaran bagi mencegah penyakit merebak.

Kementerian terus mengingatkan orang ramai bahawa walaupun jangkitan A (H1N1) setakat ini tidak begitu teruk dan kebanyakan pesakit akan pulih tanpa memerlukan rawatan antiviral, ia boleh mengakibatkan kesan yang teruk termasuk kematian bagi mereka yang juga menghidap penyakit-penyakit kronik.
Oleh itu, penghidap penyakit kronik yang mempunyai tanda-tanda jangkitan influenza A (H1N1) dinasihati mendapatkan rawatan perubatan dengan segera.

:: H1N1: 160 countries + 800 deaths

Health officials are looking into ways to speed up the

production of H1N1 vaccines

News Europe

H1N1 virus spreads to 160 countries

The H1N1 flu virus has spread to at least 160 countries across the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. The global virus, which the UN health agency declared a pandemic in June, has resulted in nearly 800 deaths worldwide since it was first detected in Mexico four months ago, WHO officials said in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.
"The spread of this virus continues, if you see 160 out of 193 WHO member states now have cases, so we are nearing almost 100 per cent, but not quite yet," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman.
"For the moment we haven't seen any changes in the behaviour of the virus," he said.
"What we are seeing still is a geographic expansion across countries."

H1N1 cases double

The WHO says the number of H1N1 cases has doubled in the last three weeks, with most of the deaths from the virus concentrated in the Americas. But the spread of the disease into other continents continues, as authorities in Britain announced more than 100,000 infections were diagnosed in the country last week.

Hartl said the pandemic strain is causing mainly mild symptoms, but he warned that the virus could mutate with the onset of colder temperatures in the northern hemisphere.
"We don't know how the virus will change going forward," he said.
"We do have to be aware that there could be changes and we have to be prepared for those."

Health officials and pharmaceutical companies are looking into ways to speed up production of an H1N1 vaccine before the northern hemisphere enters its flu season in the fall.
Hartl said he expects the first doses of a vaccine to be available for use in early autumn of the northern hemisphere.

New phenomenon

But Dr Keiji Fukuda, the assistant director-general of health security and environment at the WHO, warned that the situation will continue to change.
"Right now we're trying to get a handle on what is the real effect of the infection with this particular virus," he told Al Jazeera on Friday.
"We're dealing with a very new phenomenon, a new virus, a virus which is spreading to most countries in the world and over the next year, probably all countries," he said.
"In the current situation, most people who are getting infected develop mild illnesses ... they get better. However, what is of concern is we continue to see people die from the virus.
"What we want to know is, is this pattern going to change?"

Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies