Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1051745
Department opens swine flu hotline
Sapa Published:Aug 18, 2009
We want to reiterate our call for people not to panic, because there?s no reason for panic
The national health department says its swine flu hotline will open for business tomorrow.
The line would give members of the public a chance to ask questions about and request information on the H1N1 virus, the department said.
The disease has so far claimed six lives in South Africa.
"The line will be operated by trained personnel on communicable diseases who will in turn be supported by [a] second line made up of experts from the department," the department said.
The hotline number would be 0861 DOH CDC or (see source above)
The department said it was also running a dedicated email query service, at H1N1@health.gov.za.
In the Eastern Cape, the provincial health department today repeated its calls for calm in the face of the swine flu outbreak.
"We want to reiterate our call for people not to panic, because there?s no reason for panic," spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
He was speaking in the wake of concerns raised by nurses at Port Elizabeth?s Dora Nginza Hospital over the weekend death of a woman patient, and flu screening measures adopted by some schools in the province.
Kupelo said the woman was admitted to the hospital on Saturday and died three hours later.
However, her death was due to factors other than the H1N1 flu virus, he said.
There were still only 88 confirmed cases of swine flu in the province, and one death, of the woman from Jansenville.
Kupelo said some schools were reportedly forcing pupils to bring medical certificates confirming they were free of the flu.
This was "not right", he said. The practice was not part of the guidelines distributed by the education department for dealing with infectious diseases.
Kupelo said the department appealed to doctors not to send off for laboratory tests on mild cases of flu, whether suspected H1N1 or not.
However tests should always be done where people were HIV positive, pregnant, diabetic or had heart problems.
The department could not quarantine flu sufferers, but it did urge them to "contain themselves", and not mix with other people.
Department opens swine flu hotline
Sapa Published:Aug 18, 2009
We want to reiterate our call for people not to panic, because there?s no reason for panic
The national health department says its swine flu hotline will open for business tomorrow.
The line would give members of the public a chance to ask questions about and request information on the H1N1 virus, the department said.
The disease has so far claimed six lives in South Africa.
"The line will be operated by trained personnel on communicable diseases who will in turn be supported by [a] second line made up of experts from the department," the department said.
The hotline number would be 0861 DOH CDC or (see source above)
The department said it was also running a dedicated email query service, at H1N1@health.gov.za.
In the Eastern Cape, the provincial health department today repeated its calls for calm in the face of the swine flu outbreak.
"We want to reiterate our call for people not to panic, because there?s no reason for panic," spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said.
He was speaking in the wake of concerns raised by nurses at Port Elizabeth?s Dora Nginza Hospital over the weekend death of a woman patient, and flu screening measures adopted by some schools in the province.
Kupelo said the woman was admitted to the hospital on Saturday and died three hours later.
However, her death was due to factors other than the H1N1 flu virus, he said.
There were still only 88 confirmed cases of swine flu in the province, and one death, of the woman from Jansenville.
Kupelo said some schools were reportedly forcing pupils to bring medical certificates confirming they were free of the flu.
This was "not right", he said. The practice was not part of the guidelines distributed by the education department for dealing with infectious diseases.
Kupelo said the department appealed to doctors not to send off for laboratory tests on mild cases of flu, whether suspected H1N1 or not.
However tests should always be done where people were HIV positive, pregnant, diabetic or had heart problems.
The department could not quarantine flu sufferers, but it did urge them to "contain themselves", and not mix with other people.