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Out of 124 people who tested positive to the H1N1 virus, only one died of the disease, according to the minister of Health, Maya Hanoomanjee. But make no mistake, this virus is highly contagious and is dangerous and very virulent. It kills in a matter of days.
A peak of this pandemic, last year, left our hospitals overcrowded and our schools had to close for weeks. There were also some deaths and a rush for the Tamiflu, the anti- viral drug. When the virus reappeared in February this year, it was kept as a closely guarded secret by the then minister for Health, Rajesh Jeetah.
Hiding facts and figures on chikungunya, dengue fever and swine flu seems to be a common feature in Mauritius, an up-market tourist destination that does it level best not to scare visitors away.
The black-out on this year?s outbreak of swine flu has nevertheless been a terrible mistake and a case of mismanagement of an oncoming sanitary crisis. But the ministry of Health is not the only one to be blamed over what has happened in recent days.
?Had we been warned that swine flu was again present in Mauritius, we would have taken our precautions. We are wondering if the life of Mr White could have been saved had his doctors thought about swine flu and started the antiviral treatment when antibiotics failed the first time,? said a private sector doctor.
This statement is a confession that private practitioners have made a lethal mistake by ignoring the World Health Organization?s web-site warning doctors concerning the H1N1 pandemic.
It reads thus: ?Today, since the H1N1 pandemic virus is now the dominant influenza virus circulating worldwide, most cases of influenza-like illnesses are likely pandemic influenza. Typical symptoms to watch for include fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat and a runny nose.?
WHO advises health care providers to treat people with influenza-like illness based on their symptoms and the progress of their illness, and not to wait for laboratory confirmation of pandemic influenza. The pandemic H1N1 virus has already spread worldwide. Warnings posted on the 14th January this year and still available at the following address: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swine.../en/index.html.
Mauritius being what it is, neither private practitioners nor most of the ministry?s doctors were willing to take the blame on their shoulders.
?The ministry of Health should have warned us that there were cases of swine flu in the country and the warning you are talking about should have been the object of a press communiqu? by the ministry.
The ministry of Health is the only one to be blamed for what has happened,? says a private practitioner.
He might not be totally mistaken. The president of the Union of Private Practitioners, Dr Mohammad Isshaq Jowahir, is not wrong when he says that the case has been handled lightly by the ministry of Health.
In fact, the University of Mauritius and some private companies have so far handled the case with much more responsibility than the ministry of Health.
The university today has notices on most of its doors asking students and staff members presenting swine flu like symptoms to stay at home. They are also advised not to overcrowd corridors and not to be more than five people in the elevators.
This is not panic, but merely the protocol of the WHO addressed to all those having swine flu-like symptoms. The ministry of Health should have come up with similar warnings at the beginning of the winter season. (See inset)
Raj JUGERNAUTH
A peak of this pandemic, last year, left our hospitals overcrowded and our schools had to close for weeks. There were also some deaths and a rush for the Tamiflu, the anti- viral drug. When the virus reappeared in February this year, it was kept as a closely guarded secret by the then minister for Health, Rajesh Jeetah.
Hiding facts and figures on chikungunya, dengue fever and swine flu seems to be a common feature in Mauritius, an up-market tourist destination that does it level best not to scare visitors away.
The black-out on this year?s outbreak of swine flu has nevertheless been a terrible mistake and a case of mismanagement of an oncoming sanitary crisis. But the ministry of Health is not the only one to be blamed over what has happened in recent days.
?Had we been warned that swine flu was again present in Mauritius, we would have taken our precautions. We are wondering if the life of Mr White could have been saved had his doctors thought about swine flu and started the antiviral treatment when antibiotics failed the first time,? said a private sector doctor.
This statement is a confession that private practitioners have made a lethal mistake by ignoring the World Health Organization?s web-site warning doctors concerning the H1N1 pandemic.
It reads thus: ?Today, since the H1N1 pandemic virus is now the dominant influenza virus circulating worldwide, most cases of influenza-like illnesses are likely pandemic influenza. Typical symptoms to watch for include fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat and a runny nose.?
WHO advises health care providers to treat people with influenza-like illness based on their symptoms and the progress of their illness, and not to wait for laboratory confirmation of pandemic influenza. The pandemic H1N1 virus has already spread worldwide. Warnings posted on the 14th January this year and still available at the following address: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swine.../en/index.html.
Mauritius being what it is, neither private practitioners nor most of the ministry?s doctors were willing to take the blame on their shoulders.
?The ministry of Health should have warned us that there were cases of swine flu in the country and the warning you are talking about should have been the object of a press communiqu? by the ministry.
The ministry of Health is the only one to be blamed for what has happened,? says a private practitioner.
He might not be totally mistaken. The president of the Union of Private Practitioners, Dr Mohammad Isshaq Jowahir, is not wrong when he says that the case has been handled lightly by the ministry of Health.
In fact, the University of Mauritius and some private companies have so far handled the case with much more responsibility than the ministry of Health.
The university today has notices on most of its doors asking students and staff members presenting swine flu like symptoms to stay at home. They are also advised not to overcrowd corridors and not to be more than five people in the elevators.
This is not panic, but merely the protocol of the WHO addressed to all those having swine flu-like symptoms. The ministry of Health should have come up with similar warnings at the beginning of the winter season. (See inset)
Raj JUGERNAUTH
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