19 June 2009

Cai= ro=

South Africa is the third African Nation to confirm the Novel Influenza A (H1N1), as cases in = Morocco rise to 8 and in Egy= pt to 29

The World Health Organization (WHO) update on global Influenza A (H1N1) today included the first case= in South Africa. According to an official statement= in Pretoria today by= the Minister of Health and posted on their website at http://www.doh.gov.za/= docs/sp/sp0619-f.html the patient was a 12-year old boy on a plane from Atlanta (USA) that arrived Sunday, June 14. The boy was hospitalized on Monday, June 15, treated successfully, and discharged later in the week.

The South African Health Minister stated “We are in the process of tracing the contacts who have bee= n with him on the flight from Atlanta= ” and went on to list the following measures now in place:<= /p>

“We have= a Preparedness Plan in place and remain confident that we will continue to respond positively to any further cases that may be confirmed. Among the measures that we have in place one can just highlight the following:

· = A Multi-sectoral Committee meets weekly to monitor and assess the situation a= nd guide our response;

· = Guide= lines on National Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan and Influenza Case Managem= ent were distributed;

· = Outbr= eak response teams that are operational in all provinces;

· = Train= ing of Provincial Rapid Response Teams on Influenza pandemic preparedness;

· = Heigh= tened clinical and laboratory surveillance that we have in place to identify any suspected human case of H1N1 Influenza; and

· = Asses= sment of capacity for Epidemic Preparedness and Response including Port Health services within the context of International Health Regulations.

In terms of operations at the country's major Airport (OR Tambo Airport), two rooms have been designated for Port Health Services, with one being used as a clinic a= nd the other for isolation purposes. The clinic caters for both arrivals and departures. There are four (4) registered nurses and one (1) supporting Doc= tor”.

Meanwhile, els= ewhere in Africa the number of confirmed cases with this novel influenza virus ros= e to 8 in Morocco and 29 in= Egypt.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> None of these cases have been fata= l.

In a front-page story written by Safaa Abdoun in the print-version of the Egyptian “D= aily News” on Thursday, June 18, it was noted that of the three most recen= tly identified cases in = Egypt, “The most alarming case among those three is of an unidentified 21-year-old hotel staffer, according to Health Ministry Spokesperson Abdel Rahman Shahin. This man has not traveled recently and has not come in conta= ct with any of the previously reported cases.”

This person is= the first in Egypt confirmed to have this novel virus who does not = have an epidemiological link to travel or known contact with a traveler. This pattern has been seen in many other nations in which initial confirmed cases have been in travelers, or contacts of travelers, followed by infections in persons lacking such epidemiological links.

More infection= s in African nations should be anticipated. Increasing support from WHO and elsewhere should hopefully also be anticipated before transmission of the v= irus is at the community-level as has already occurred in parts of the Americas, Oceania, Europe, and Asia.

Daniel R. Lucey, MD, MPH

EROne Institutes, Department of Emergency Medicine

Washington Hospital Center

Adjunct Professor of Microbiology and Immunology<= /p>

= G= eorgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D= .C.

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