Gulf | Oman
Oman and Syria confirm new cases amid global fears over lack of preventive steps
A new case of H1N1 influenza was reported in Oman yesterday, taking the total number of infections to four in the sultanate.
- Staff Report
- Published: 23:04 July 4, 2009
Muscat: A new case of H1N1 influenza was reported in Oman yesterday, taking the total number of infections to four in the sultanate.
The latest case involves a young British student visiting his parents who are expatriate residents of the sultanate. The youngster had arrived in the country on June 30 and developed flu-like conditions. "The patient is responding well to treatment and has been home quarantined for a period of seven days," a health ministry official said.
Syria, too, has confirmed its first H1N1 infection. An Australian woman in Syria on holiday tested positive for the virus after complaining of flu symptoms, Syrian Health Minister Reda Saeed announced in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Australian swine flu contagion rose to 4,958 confirmed cases with 10 deaths, the Department of Health and Ageing said on its website.
As swine flu runs rampant in the Southern Hemisphere winter, world health experts are concerned that some hard-hit countries have been reluctant to take forceful measures to protect public health.
Only Friday, Argentina's new health minister, Juan Manzur, raised the country's official death toll to 44 and admitted to about 100,000 swine flu cases - a huge jump in what the government acknowledged previously. In Britain, health minister Andy Burnham belatedly acknowledged on Thursday that Britain needs to revamp its response and could see up to 100,000 new swine flu cases a day by the end of August.
- With inputs from agencies
News Editor's choice
-
UAE upholds values of free trade
Recently released statistics confirm an established fact, namely that of the UAE embracing the free trade principle in general and imports in particular
-
Parents should be more vigilant
Reader's picture highlights risk of negligence by caretakers
-
Children killed in Syria attack
World condemns latest Syrian horror as monitors find bodies of 32 children among 92 killed
