News Etc.
A week after a family of six was interned at an Istanbul hospital when thermal cameras at the Ataturk Airport’s arrivals lounge spotted that one of them had a high running fever, Turkey’s Ministry of Health announced that no other cases of swine flu (A/H1N1) has been recorded in the country except in two members of the quarantined family.
The family of six, all Iraqi-origin U.S. citizens, were traveling from Amsterdam on their way to Baghdad. After all the family members were interned by health authorities, subsequent tests revealed that both the young man with high fever and his mother had been infected with A/H1N1 virus.
The Health Ministry announcement said none of the remaining members of the family nor the crew and other passengers on board the same flight from Amsterdam showed signs of infection. It also said that the conditions of the infected patients “were satisfactory.”
After the medical tests indicated that the deadly A/H1N1 virus reached Turkey, the Health Ministry began operating a hot telephone line to answer questions about the disease coming from the citizens. The ministry also issued a list of symptoms of the virus and warned those who may have some or all these symptoms to report to hospitals.
“If you have arrived in the country from abroad within the last 7 days and if you have a fever above 38 degrees Centigrade and suffering from pains in the throat, coughing, headache and exhaustion report to a doctor immediately,” said the Health Ministry warning.
Health Ministry officials also said that they have stocked 1,920,00 units of anti-virus medicine and ordered 720,000 more units to combat a possible epidemic of the disease.
Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WHO) said that the number swine flu cases in the world has reached almost 9,000 in 40 countries. So far those who lost their lives because of the disease stand at 80.
