The H1N1 virus (swine flu) ought to be taken seriously because people can die from it, former health minister Dr Fuad Khan said yesterday.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian via telephone, Khan said all students should also be vaccinated against the virus with the new term scheduled to start today. He said once people can die from any virus the relevant authorities must take decisive action.
On Thursday, Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh urged parents to keep their children away from schools today (Monday) once they display cough and cold-like flu symptoms or any other sort of related discomfort.
Deyalsingh had reportedly said that the call was part of an attempt to bring the swine flu issue under control among the school population.
However, Khan said yesterday that he believes more focus should be placed on school children and added that the H1N1 vaccination should be made available to students.
“This is where it is needed, because school children get the flu very easily and it can spread very quickly because children cough and sneeze on each other and then touch others and play with each other and once the virus is contracted it will spread,” Khan said.
“With this swine flu more action needs to be taken by Minister Deyalsingh. It is something that goes beyond telling the population not to panic. It is something that we should be very concerned about.”
Khan said he has been flooded with calls from people who have been complaining that they have gone to various health offices for the vaccination and were told there is none in the country. He added that many of them are instead administered the normal flu shots, which he said only give partial coverage.
“I am hearing that 20,000 vaccinations have been ordered. Where are they?” Khan said. He also raised the issue of a shortage of district health visitors, who visit schools to administer vaccinations to school children, adding this needs to be addressed soon.
“When I was in office I was encountered with this same problem and tried to address it. However, because the health training of such people were taken from the Ministry of Health and put under the Ministry of Tertiary Education it became more problematic, because training really supposed to be under the Health Ministry and I don't think that the current Minister is aware of this,” Khan said.
Contacted on the issue yesterday, Deyalsingh said he will hold a press conference on Friday to discuss more on the H1N1 and the ministry’s formulation plan.
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With respect the Zika virus, people are urged to keep their surroundings clean and empty all unnecessary water collection vessels example flower pots, old tires, old paint pans, et cetera, in a bid to prevent the Aedes Aegypti mosquito from breeding. The mosquito is said to be the carrier of the Zika virus, which is new to the Caribbean.
The Caribbean's tropical climate has been susceptible to mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever and chikungunya. Zika virus is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which can also transmit dengue and chikungunya.
People with Zika virus infection may have no symptoms, or may suffer mild to moderate symptoms including fever, headache, rash, and muscle and joint pain. The virus is not deemed fatal but can lead to complications.