Muscat: Two people have died of H1N1 or swine flu following severe pneumonia, according to a source at Oman’s Ministry of Health.
With this, the H1N1 toll has touched 35 in Oman since its outbreak in 2009.
The official said that the situation is under control and the ministry is closely monitoring the disease.
The ministry called on citizens to ensure good personal hygiene when sneezing and coughing. It also urged should also wash their hands before and after visiting patients.
The H1N1 flu virus caused a world-wide pandemic in 2009. It is now a human seasonal flu virus that also circulates in pigs. While the H1N1 viruses have continued to circulate since the pandemic, 2014 is the first season since 2009 that H1N1 has been so predominant in the US.
When it was first detected in 2009, it was called ‘swine flu’ because the virus was similar to those found in pigs.
The H1N1 virus is currently a seasonal flu virus found in humans. Although it also circulates in pigs, you cannot get it by eating properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
According to the health officials, signs of influenza A (H1N1) are similar to flu symptoms. These include fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose and sometimes vomiting or diarrhoea. Like the seasonal flu, swine flu may worsen the health of a person if he/she has any underlying chronic medical conditions.
