Qatar identifies first H1N1 cases

June 17, 2009

Qatar has announced its first swine flu cases after two toddlers and one teenager arriving in the country were diagnosed with the virus
By Noimot Olayiwola
Staff Reporter

The Supreme Council of Health yesterday announced the first three cases of the H1N1 flu virus in Qatar.
The three patients, all foreigners below 17, have been quarantined and are in “stable condition”, according to senior officials of the council.
Up to 70 suspected cases have been screened for the virus so far in Qatar since it became a major health concern around the world.
The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) confirmed the first two cases yesterday morning and HE the Minister of Health Abdullah Khalid al-Qahtani announced the third case in the afternoon.
The first case was a two-year-old New Zealander boy, whose family is resident in Qatar. The family had returned from a trip to Melbourne, Australia, on Emirates Airline last Saturday, said Hamad Medical Corporation’s Emergency Department chairman Dr Abdulwahab al-Musleh.
“The boy developed flu symptoms two days after returning and was admitted to the hospital and because he presented the criteria for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) check-up, a confirmatory test was done and the result later came out to be positive,” al-Qahtani explained.
PCR testing is a global benchmark used for identifying viruses.
Dr al-Musleh said the second case, a two-and-half-year-old American-Bangladeshi boy, was in transit from the US on Qatar Airways to Bangladesh when he was diagnosed with the symptoms at the Doha airport.
“The result of the H1N1 confirmatory tests conducted on the child was positive. He was taken to Al Gharafa Health Centre as he was suffering from fever but his condition has improved now,” Dr al-Musleh said.
The third case was an Iraqi, a 17-year-old male student resident of Doha who returned from a trip to Washington DC after attending an event there.
The Iraqi teenager came to the HMC Emergency on Monday night and he was confirmed having the virus yesterday morning, Dr al-Musleh said.
“All the three patients are in good condition as we have given them and their family members a very effective anti-viral medication,” he stated.
“The Supreme Council of Health’s Communicable Diseases Control Department has provided them with the right information about how to deal with the situation and protect the uninfected until they are certified free of the virus,” he added.
The second patient is presently housed at the quarantine building in the Medical City.
Dr al-Musleh urged the public not to panic, saying the situation is under control.
“With these three cases, we are still far from the pre-pandemic stage which is between 10-100 cases (second stage). Only when the cases reach more than 100 should we declare a pandemic (third stage),” he said.
“Usually, recovery from H1N1 virus takes about five days as the disease is very mild; it has a cure and a very effective anti-virus (medications),” he said.
“The Supreme Council of Health has placed order for the H1N1 virus vaccines and it is expected to arrive before September, but in the meantime, we have enough stock of very effective anti-virus to combat any cases before the vaccines arrived.”
To obtain or give information about the H1N1 virus, the public may call the Supreme Council of Health on its hotline 6740951 and HMC on 4430438.

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