BEIRUT: The Health Ministry released a statement Tuesday stressing that contrary to recent media reports, the A (H1N1) virus, commonly known as swine flu, is not a cause for public alarm in Lebanon.
The statement said that H1N1 “doesn’t constitute a health emergency, hence, there is no need for fear and panic.”
This week, one case of the flu was discovered in south Lebanon. The patient is currently being treated at the Italian hospital in Tyre.
The ministry statement described H1N1 as a yearly seasonal virus, transferred by respiratory secretions. Droplets can be spread through coughing and sneezing, particularly in crowded places.
Drawing from scientific sources, the ministry stressed that H1N1 is a virus to be expected at this time of year. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flu season occurs during winter months, but can stretch into May. The World Health Organization has found that some MENA countries, such as Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia, have seen a rise in H1N1 cases during flu season.
The Health Ministry added that the yearly flu season is now in swing on a global scale, and it remains ongoing in Lebanon.
Information from the WHO explained that the flu virus comes in strains A, B and C. Strain A has several subtypes, including H1N1 and the newer H3N2, both of which are variants of viruses that are endemic in pigs.
Symptoms listed by the WHO and the CDC include high fever, sore throat, coughing and sneezing. Children, the elderly and those with weakened immune symptoms are prone to more severe complications, which can result in pneumonia and death.
The ministry statement said that type A flu is active in Lebanon. It attributed this information to the Influenza Hospital Surveillance Network, which was created in 2014, in cooperation with the WHO. “Since January 2015 until March 3, 80 samples have been examined, 11 percent of them have tested positive for type A,” the statement said.
According to the Health Ministry, as of late January and early February 2015, “Flu virus A (H3N2) represented 87 percent of type A flu cases.” The remainder of type A cases were H1N1.
Swine flu spread to global pandemic levels in 2009. Since that time, the virus has not been eradicated, but incidence levels on a global scale have settled.
The statement advised that seasonal flu vaccinations should include protection against H1N1.
It also reminded the public of the need to practice healthy behavior to prevent flu virus transmission, advising that “when coughing and sneezing one needs to wash hands, and keep distance from those who show signs of illness.”
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