What Uganda should do in case of swine flu
May 07, 2009
THE last time Mexico was in the news was the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup in 1986. Unfortunately, several years later, Mexico is in the spotlight for the swine flu (H1N1) that has spread, “dribbling†its way to the US, Europe and Asia. It may en
By Patrick Oyulu
THE last time Mexico was in the news was the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup in 1986. Unfortunately, several years later, Mexico is in the spotlight for the swine flu (H1N1) that has spread, “dribbling†its way to the US, Europe and Asia. It may end up hitting Africa and eventually Uganda.
The death toll is 236 worldwide at the time of writing, an elevation from level four to five and we are at the verge of a fully-blown pandemic. But the question is, are we prepared?
The Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) has led the way in the US monitoring and isolating the threat, with constant updates on their websites and press briefings by their officials in Atlanta.
The UK just launched a new public health ad campaign: “Catch it. Kill it, bin it.†By next week, every homestead is expected to receive an information kit (leaflets) showing ways of combating the disease.
Mexico has almost ground to a halt with bans on gatherings in stadia, public places, schools, pubs and people told not to go to work for a few days to minimise contact.
No case has been reported in Africa yet, mainly because we have dry weather (and the influenza is known to thrive more in humid environments) and probably due to the fact that travel patterns (especially air travel) to Africa (from affected areas) are not as regular.
There is no silver bullet to reduce H1N1 (the influenza), but every effort by the Government is required and every sense of personal responsibility by individuals — like covering your mouth while coughing, washing your hands with soap regularly, keeping a clean hankie and throwing old ones and paper linen in the bin.
According to wikipedia, the 2009 flu outbreak in humans, known as “swine fluâ€, is due to an apparently virulent new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1.
The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organisation for Animal Health reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs. It can be transmitted from human to human, an ability attributed to unidentified mutation.
This 2009 H1N1 strain causes the normal symptoms of influenza such as fever, coughing and headache.
The Government, working in conjunction with partners like the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the CDC representatives here, should step up testing facilities in all points of entry like airports and border points. In particular persons coming from affected areas should be tested.
Crisis management should not wait until the influenza hits Uganda. We should not only be prepared with a stock of Tamiflu anti-virals, but should step up public health advocacy.
Radio has gone a long way in reaching many parts of Uganda and should be the main mode of advocacy spreading the word about this flu and urging a sense of responsibility.
This should be supplemented with leaflets, posters and by health teams in towns and in the countryside talking about preventive measures.
Until we rehearse this time and again, we will be caught unawares.
Most importantly, like the CDC is stressing in the US, there is need for calm. Whenever a case has been identified, a response team should be in place to visit the person instead of the reverse, with the patient going to clinics and increasing chances of spreading the disease.
Swine flu has been upgraded to level five and Mexico is worst hit followed by US, Europe and Asia, Africa is yet to register a case. But that does not mean we are safe. This is part of the message the Government should constantly pass onto the masses.
The Government should also ensure control of distribution of the Tamiflu anti-virus drug in case the flu hits us because purchasing them privately will cause a mad dash with the ultimate result that the influenza may develop resistance to the drug.
Since 1900, we have had three pandemic and several “pandemic threatsâ€, the Spanish flu in 1918 that decimated close to 50 million people, the Asian flu in 1957 that killed far much less because the virus was quickly identified due to advances in scientific technology.
Then came the Hong Kong flu in 1968, the 1976 swine flu threat, the Russian flu threat in 1977 and the avian flu in 1997 that saw the influenza spread from chicken to humans.
The core deterrent, apart from actual treatment, is information management. The level the swine flu pandemic has reached requires identification and putting in place a crisis management team, increasing awareness to all households, towns and villages. We should not wait.
Slaughtering pigs the Egyptian style is no remedy. A nation wide campaign to spread awareness is, and yes we can. No other word is better than “prevention is better than cure†at this time.
The writer is a media consultant
THE last time Mexico was in the news was the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup in 1986. Unfortunately, several years later, Mexico is in the spotlight for the swine flu (H1N1) that has spread, “dribbling†its way to the US, Europe and Asia. It may end up hitting Africa and eventually Uganda.
The death toll is 236 worldwide at the time of writing, an elevation from level four to five and we are at the verge of a fully-blown pandemic. But the question is, are we prepared?
The Centre for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) has led the way in the US monitoring and isolating the threat, with constant updates on their websites and press briefings by their officials in Atlanta.
The UK just launched a new public health ad campaign: “Catch it. Kill it, bin it.†By next week, every homestead is expected to receive an information kit (leaflets) showing ways of combating the disease.
Mexico has almost ground to a halt with bans on gatherings in stadia, public places, schools, pubs and people told not to go to work for a few days to minimise contact.
No case has been reported in Africa yet, mainly because we have dry weather (and the influenza is known to thrive more in humid environments) and probably due to the fact that travel patterns (especially air travel) to Africa (from affected areas) are not as regular.
There is no silver bullet to reduce H1N1 (the influenza), but every effort by the Government is required and every sense of personal responsibility by individuals — like covering your mouth while coughing, washing your hands with soap regularly, keeping a clean hankie and throwing old ones and paper linen in the bin.
According to wikipedia, the 2009 flu outbreak in humans, known as “swine fluâ€, is due to an apparently virulent new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1.
The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organisation for Animal Health reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs. It can be transmitted from human to human, an ability attributed to unidentified mutation.
This 2009 H1N1 strain causes the normal symptoms of influenza such as fever, coughing and headache.
The Government, working in conjunction with partners like the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the CDC representatives here, should step up testing facilities in all points of entry like airports and border points. In particular persons coming from affected areas should be tested.
Crisis management should not wait until the influenza hits Uganda. We should not only be prepared with a stock of Tamiflu anti-virals, but should step up public health advocacy.
Radio has gone a long way in reaching many parts of Uganda and should be the main mode of advocacy spreading the word about this flu and urging a sense of responsibility.
This should be supplemented with leaflets, posters and by health teams in towns and in the countryside talking about preventive measures.
Until we rehearse this time and again, we will be caught unawares.
Most importantly, like the CDC is stressing in the US, there is need for calm. Whenever a case has been identified, a response team should be in place to visit the person instead of the reverse, with the patient going to clinics and increasing chances of spreading the disease.
Swine flu has been upgraded to level five and Mexico is worst hit followed by US, Europe and Asia, Africa is yet to register a case. But that does not mean we are safe. This is part of the message the Government should constantly pass onto the masses.
The Government should also ensure control of distribution of the Tamiflu anti-virus drug in case the flu hits us because purchasing them privately will cause a mad dash with the ultimate result that the influenza may develop resistance to the drug.
Since 1900, we have had three pandemic and several “pandemic threatsâ€, the Spanish flu in 1918 that decimated close to 50 million people, the Asian flu in 1957 that killed far much less because the virus was quickly identified due to advances in scientific technology.
Then came the Hong Kong flu in 1968, the 1976 swine flu threat, the Russian flu threat in 1977 and the avian flu in 1997 that saw the influenza spread from chicken to humans.
The core deterrent, apart from actual treatment, is information management. The level the swine flu pandemic has reached requires identification and putting in place a crisis management team, increasing awareness to all households, towns and villages. We should not wait.
Slaughtering pigs the Egyptian style is no remedy. A nation wide campaign to spread awareness is, and yes we can. No other word is better than “prevention is better than cure†at this time.
The writer is a media consultant