24
June 2009
Cairo=
Six African Nations now confirm Novel Influe=
nza
A/H1N1: Ethiopia, Tunisia, C=
ote
d’Ivoire, S. Africa, Morocco
and Egypt
Today’s
update from the World Health Organization (WHO) added initial confirmed cases of the nov=
el
Influenza A/H1N1 from three more African nations: Ethiopia (2 cases), Tunis=
ia
(2 cases), and Cote d’Ivoire (2 cases). Three additional African nations
previously reporting cases were: Egypt
(40 cases), Morocco (9
cases), and South Af=
rica
(1 case). There is no reason to expect that the spread of this novel virus =
in
Africa will not eventually be as widespread as in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
The
Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) press release June 19 from Addis Ababa stated that the two patients confirmed as
positive for this novel virus were a 16 year-old and a 17 year-old who retu=
rned
home to Addis from a cultural exchange program in the USA.
Confirmation was performed at the US CDC Atlanta. Both young women have
recovered from their illness. The full press release can be found at: www.mo=
h.gov.et/images/stories/h1n1_press_release.pdf
Ethiopia
reports having stockpiled enough anti-influenza oral therapy with oseltamiv=
ir
(Tamiflu) in coordination with the WHO, and is in the process of distributi=
ng
the antivirals across the nation. A specific hospital, St. Paulos, has been
designated to admit passengers suspected of having this novel influenza upon
arrival at the Bole International airport in Addis. Ethiopian Airlines crew have also been reported by the Federal MoH to hav=
e had
training in the detection and reporting of symptomatic cases of influenza-l=
ike
illness.
Overall,
today’s WHO global update on confirmed counts of infections due to th=
is
virus included 55,867 cases including 238 fatalities. The largest number of
cases and deaths have been reported to WHO from the USA
(21,449 cases with 87 deaths) and Mexico (7,847 cases with 115
deaths).
Predictably,
the number of cases in Africa will only
increase along with the initial fatalities and the challenges to the public
health and economic infrastructures.
Daniel
R. Lucey MD, MPH<=
/span>
EROne
Institutes, Department of Emergency Medicine
Washington
Hospital Center
Adjunct
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Georgetown University Medical Cente=
r,
Washington,
DC
Website
for this posting (requires IE): www.BePa=
st.org
e-mail:DRL23@Georgetown.edu
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