Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 6 deaths

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Saudi Arabia - A/H1N1 cases- 216

Re: Saudi Arabia - A/H1N1 cases- 216


Saudi Arabia reports 32 more cases of swine flu

7/13/2009,

The Associated Press

(AP) ? RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The Saudi Health Ministry has reported 32 more cases of swine flu, including 20 in a foreign school.

The official Saudi Press Agency on Monday quoted the ministry as saying the school was closed as a precaution.

Besides the cases at the school, five Saudi nationals and seven foreign residents were also found with the flu.

Saudi Arabia's count of swine flu cases is at 216. No one has died in the kingdom from the flu.


http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/i...tional-8/124751583478800.xml&storylist=health

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Saudi Arabia - A/H1N1 cases- 294

Re: Saudi Arabia - A/H1N1 cases- 294

Saudi swine flu cases near 300

Jul 19, 2009 at

Swine flu outbreak during Haj 'inevitable'

Saudi Arabia on Saturday reported nine fresh cases of swine flu, bringing the total in the kingdom to 294 as pilgrims begin arriving for the upcoming Umrah and Haj.

The Health Ministry said the new cases include seven Saudis and two expatriates, Saudi daily Arab News reported on Sunday.

?Blood samples of the new cases were tested and were positive for H1N1,? a ministry official was quoted as saying.

The ministry said 215 of those infected with the A(H1N1) flu virus so far have fully recovered, while the rest remain in a ?stable condition?.

The ministry said the school closed after more than 20 cases were discovered will re-open next week, while another school closed due to an outbreak has re-opened, without giving further details.

The continued spread of swine flu in Saudi Arabia will no doubt set alarm bells ringing at the World Health Organization (WHO) as the kingdom prepares for the 2 million Muslims expected to arrive between August and December for Umrah and Haj.

The Umrah - minor pilgrimage - season picks up in late August, during the fasting month of Ramadan, followed by the Haj - the fifth pillar of Islam - in late November.

With the rapid global spread of swine flu all eyes are on Saudi Arabia to make sure the conservative Muslim country can limit the spread of the virus and cope with any outbreak.

http://business.maktoob.com/20090000008022/Saudi_swine_flu_cases_near_300/Article.htm

 

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 4 deaths

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 4 deaths

Two new deaths take Saudi H1N1 death toll to four

Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:06pm EDT

RIYADH, July 31 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia reported two more H1N1 flu deaths on Friday, taking fatalities in the kingdom to four as it prepares to welcome hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims for the pilgrimages in September and November.

The official Saudi Press Agency quoted the Health Ministry as saying a 32-year-old Saudi male nurse died on Friday in the central city of Qassim.

A second Saudi man, aged 25, also died on Friday of the disease in the southern city of Assir.

On Thursday, the ministry said a 28-year-old Indonesian woman died in Dammam, in the east of the kingdom, which has a large population of Asian guest workers.

Saudi Arabia announced its first H1N1 death on Monday, a 30-year-old Saudi man in Dammam. Saudi Arabia has reported about 300 human cases of swine flu.

Saudi officials have said they would use thermal cameras and have more medics on stand-by as part of measures to help limit the spread of flu during the haj pilgrimage in November.

The kingdom also expects tens of thousands of pilgrims from Muslim countries to come for the minor umra pilgrimage during the last 10 days of the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on Aug. 22.

(Reporting by Souhail Karam; Editing by Jon Boyle)

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 4 deaths

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 4 deaths

Source: http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/details/27421

Saudi swine flu death toll rises to four as vaccines ordered | DATE: 2009-08-02


RIYADH, Aug 1, 2009 (AFP) - Two Saudi men have died of swine flu, bringing to four the total such deaths in the Gulf state, which on Saturday said it has ordered four million vaccine doses ahead of the mass influx of Muslim pilgrims.

A 32-year-old nurse who first showed symptoms of A(H1N1) three weeks ago died on Friday in the central province of Al-Qassim, the health ministry said, quoted by the official SPA news agency.

A 25-year-old man, a heavy smoker, died in a hospital in southern Saudi Arabia the same day after suffering from throat and chest inflammation and developing a fever, it said.

An Indonesian woman and a Saudi man have also died in the past week from the virus in the kingdom.

The swine flu deaths have stoked fears over the expected influx of millions of pilgrims from around the world to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina, in western Saudi Arabia, over the next five months.

Health Minister Abdulla al-Rabia told a press conference that Saudi Arabia was awaiting four million swine flu vaccines from international companies ahead of the influx.

"Four million vaccine doses were reserved and of course, buying the vaccines is not easy as there is global competition," he said.

Rabia said the vaccines would be given primarily to pilgrims residing in Saudi Arabia, people who work on the organisation of the pilgrimage and residents of Mecca and Medina.

The first shipment is expected to arrive by the end of October, he said, adding that the number of swine flu cases in the kingdom has reached 595.

The umrah, or minor pilgrimage to Mecca, normally peaks during the month of Ramadan which covers August-September, when more than a million people could arrive in Mecca and Medina.

On July 22, Arab health ministers agreed to ban certain vulnerable groups including the elderly and young children from the Mecca pilgrimage in an effort to contain the spread of swine flu.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 6 deaths

Source: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&sec...5&m=8&y=2009&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom

Two more flu deaths reported
Mohammed Rasooldeen | Arab News


RIYADH: The Ministry of Health announced Tuesday two more swine flu fatalities, which brings the total number of reported H1N1-linked deaths in the Kingdom to six.

The new fatalities are a 15-year-old Saudi boy and a Sri Lankan salesman with a UAE address who was identified as Mohammed Mafaz Mohammed Saleem, 31. The man was found dead in his hotel room on Monday.

?Both deaths are in the capital,? said Health Ministry Spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani. ?The Saudi boy died here Tuesday. He was suffering from a congenital heart problem.?

Saleem was an employee of RGG group, subsidiary of Al Hokair Group, and traveled to Riyadh regularly to sell ladies apparel items to retail outlets in Riyadh.

Sri Lankan Embassy Charge D?affaires Sabarullah Khan told Arab News that the death certificate that was delivered to the Lankan government cited the cause of death as a ?heart attack.?

?This is really shocking to hear that the death was due to H1N1,? Khan said.

The embassy official said that Saleem visited numerous health centers, ?yet none of them diagnosed the disease properly, and such negligence had led to an unfortunate death,? said Khan.

Saleem arrived here on June 25 with a severe cough and high fever and was reportedly refused admission for treatment. Saleem visited a government hospital around 11 a.m. on Friday. He visited another hospital at around 6 p.m. on Sunday where a doctor took samples of saliva and mucous and prescribed medicine for pneumonia before sending the man on his way. The report showing the man had swine flu arrived on Monday, the day his body was found in a hotel room in the capital.

The staff at the hotel ? the Golden Tulip Hotel in Qasr Al-Nasseriyah ? was tested for swine flu because the Saleem had resided there for nine days.

In related news, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) and the Saudi Health Ministry have officially registered a new medicine for the treatment of swine flu, the local daily Al-Madinah reported on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, SFDA Deputy Chairman Dr. Saleh Bawazir said the Saudi-made medicine named Oselta is considered the first medicine in the world that is effective against swine flu particularly after the end of the preventive period of Tamiflu.

?This 75 mg capsules drug is an alternative medicine which is 30 percent less than the price of the current medicine,? he said.

Bawazir did not give the name of the national company that invented the drug but said a medical doctor should take the medicine only on prescription to those who actually have H1N1.

As cases of swine flu grow in the Kingdom, Deputy Chairman of Committee of Health and Treatment in Iranian Parliament Hussein Ali Shehrayari said Iran would not send Iranian pilgrims for Umrah during the month of Ramadan in view of the spread of swine flu disease, the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting Iranian newspapers on Tuesday.

?In view of the spread of pandemic influenza virus of type A/H1N1 and the increasing number of people infected with the disease, it is necessary to take precautionary measures for the prevention of this disease,? Shehrayari said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Saudi Arabia - Cases approx. 300 plus 6 deaths

Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2009080645916

H1N1-death man may have spread infection
By Shahid Ali Khan
RIYADH ? The death of Sri Lankan national Mohammed Mafaz Mohammed Saleem in a hotel room here Monday, confirmed as resulting from swine flu by the Ministry of Health, has raised concerns over whether he could have spread the infection during his week-long attempts to find treatment in at least four medical centers.
Saleem, a resident of Dubai, arrived in Riyadh on July 25 on a business trip and, according to at least six of his friends who had variously accompanied him to medical centers, was displaying flu-like symptoms.
One of the six, all Sri Lankans speaking on condition of anonymity, said he hosted Saleem for one day at home with his wife and children, and said he had assisted in Saleem?s efforts to seek urgent medical attention.
According to the friend, Saleem was taken first to Olaya Polyclinic in the upmarket district of Olaya where he was diagnosed with common flu and given antibiotics. When the symptoms failed to subside, Saleem was taken to Al-Shammary Polyclinic where he was advised to continue taking the same medication.
Still showing no signs of improvement, he then checked in at Shumaisy General Hospital at around 11 A.M. Friday where doctors repeated advice to continue on the same medication before discharging him.
Friends of Saleem then took him to the Specialized Medical Clinic Hospital on King Fahd Street where staff took a swab of his mucous and charged him SR250 for the test and analysis. The hospital, however, did not present the test report and instead told Saleem to return to Shumaisy Hospital. The doctor there reportedly advised him to ?stay away from people?.
?The tragedy is that none of the medical centers was ready to admit him as an in-patient and treat him for the illness,? said one of the six friends. ?All this happened despite clear instructions from Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabeah that hospitals should take in and treat any persons with flu-like symptoms.?
On Sunday, one day before his death, Saleem returned to the Golden Tulip Hotel in the Nassariyah district.
The next day his friend knocked on the door of Room No. 332 after receiving no reply to telephone calls, and when there was no response hotel staff were informed.
When the door was opened Saleem was found dead on his bed.
Concerns have since centered on how many people may have been infected by swine flu after coming into contact with Saleem, although a test his friend was asked to take after the discovery of Saleem?s body proved negative. Staff at the hotel where he was found, however, are among those concerned and question the lack of action taken by authorities.
?Room 332 and the other rooms on the floor have not been disinfected, because the Health Ministry has not informed us to do so,? the hotel source said, although the top floor of the hotel where Saleem?s room was located has been quarantined.
Further questions still remain over whether Saleem did actually die of the swine flu virus or from other causes.
Sabarullah Khan, Charge d?Affaires at the Sri Lankan Embassy, said that the Ministry of Health statement confirming the cause of Saleem?s death as swine flu was contradicted by a hospital report.
?According to Shumaisy Hospital medical report, Saleem died of cardio-respiratory failure and other illness,? Khan said. ?The Embassy is still awaiting a final medical report from the Health Ministry?.
Staff at the Golden Tulip Hotel where Saleem was found dead in his room, also question the diagnosis.
?We have not received any report from the Health Ministry suggesting Saleem died from swine flu,? said one member of staff who asked not to be identified.
31-year-old Saleem, who was laid to rest in Riyadh?s Umm Al-Hammam Cemetery on Wednesday, is survived by his wife who consented to the burial through an affidavit, and his parents. - SG