-20,000 doses medicine available

From noon today the Ministry of Health will begin to implement its public awareness programme on the deadly swine flu, according to a statement from Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

The ministry has already taken a number of actions, including monitoring the ports of entry in Guyana, in the event that there is an outbreak of the flu which has killed over 150 persons in Mexico and infected more than 40 in the US.

According to Ramsammy, Ministers of Health of the Americas held an internet conference yesterday apprising each other of the status of swine flu in each country and the actions being taken to prevent or mitigate transmission.

He also said that yesterday morning in his capacity as President of the World Health Assembly  he had a telephone conference with Dr. Margaret Chan, the Director General of the WHO, and Dr. DaSilva, the Chair of the Executive Committee of the WHO.

“Together we agree to accept the recommendations of the expert committee and raise the present level of alert from a Phase 4 to a Phase 5 epidemic,” the minister said in his statement.

On the local front the minister said the stock level of protective equipment has been verified and “we have ensured that enough supplies are available for use by healthcare providers and first responders in case of an outbreak in Guyana.” He said his ministry has 20,000 doses of the medicine available.

“We are advising persons who might be traveling to do so only if absolutely necessary at this time to countries where cases of swine flu have been identified. When traveling to these countries persons should ensure they avoid crowded areas,” the minister said.

All fever cases should be reported immediately by health officials while surveillance officers will follow up all suspicious cases to ensure that the proper tests are done.

The ministry has arrangements with the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC) and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for testing to be done.