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BANGLADESH: Country well prepared for swine flu, says government

DHAKA, 30 June 2009 (IRIN) - Nine people have been confirmed with A(H1N1) influenza - commonly known as swine flu - since the first case was spotted on 18 June, but the government says it is well prepared to combat the disease.

“Bangladesh is fully prepared to deal with the A(H1N1) threat,” A.S.M. Alamgir, a virologist at the government’s Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told IRIN in Dhaka.

Key to combating the spread of the disease are the national rapid response teams (RRTs), which are now on high alert at the district and sub-district levels, he said. Each of the country’s 64 districts has an RRT with 11 staff, and each of the 482 sub-districts has an RRT with five staff.

RRT members are health care experts and “specialists trained to contain nationwide epidemics”, Alamgir said, adding that they could provide containment and treatment facilities to the remotest of villages within four hours.

The first case was detected in Dhaka, with the patient having recently returned from the USA, according to Health Services chief Shah Monir Hussein. By 29 June, the number of confirmed cases had risen to nine. Six of the patients had returned from the USA on the same flight as the first patient.

One patient is the victim of a secondary infection when he came into close contact with the first patient in Bangladesh. The most recent case is that of a 40-year-old man recently who had just from India.

“All of the patients and their families are being closely monitored… So far none of the cases have proven to be life-threatening. We are hoping they will recover fully within a short time,” Alamgir said.

Screening at points of entry

In an effort to stem the virus’s spread, the government has trained staff and initiated screening at all 15 major points of entry to the country. It has also stockpiled 400,000 capsules of the antivirus Oseltamivir, while WHO has stockpiled another 110,000 capsules, according to IEDCR.

“We already have the capacity to treat 250,000 people if the need arises. The government has procured the license to manufacture the necessary antivirus. Three private pharmaceutical companies have already been producing this antivirus and they have assured us that they will be able to deliver these medicines to any corner of Bangladesh within three hours,” said Alamgir.

“This is an extremely contagious virus with a very high fatality rate and we are giving it all the attention it deserves,” he added.

Earlier in May, one Bangladeshi national died in Mexico of the disease.

On 11 June WHO upgraded the threat to the highest “pandemic” level. As of 29 June, close to 71,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed worldwide, WHO reports, with more than 300 deaths.

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Copyright © IRIN 2009
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