South Africa on swine flu alert
Chris Bathembu
29 April 2009
While no human cases of swine flu have been reported in South Africa, the Department of Health says it has taken steps to ensure the country's readiness should any case be identified.
The department's spokesperson Fidele Hadebe said on Tuesday that clinical and laboratory surveillance had been stepped up to identify any suspected human case of swine influenza in the country.
Officials at all of South Africa's ports of entry are on the alert, while the department's outbreak response teams, which are operational in all nine provinces, have received training on influenza pandemic preparedness and response.
The department is also working closely with the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, the Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to keep a close eye on the situation.
On Monday, the WHO reported an outbreak of Swine Influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico. Mexico's health minister, Jose Angel Cordova, said on Tuesday that the death toll from swine flu there had risen to 159 people. Cordova said 2 498 suspected cases had been reported, with 1 311 patients still in hospital.
There have also been reported cases in the United States, Spain and Canada.
Swine flu
The current H1N1 strain of swine flu is a potentially fatal respiratory disease that is believed to have originated in people working with pigs in Mexico and the US.
Swine flu cannot be caused by eating pork products but, like other forms of influenza, is a respiratory illness spread from person to person by an infected person's viral particles being dispersed during coughing or sneezing.
Non-infected people then inhale the virus, or become infected by touching surfaces on which the virus has been deposited and then transferring it to their eyes, mouth or nose.
The symptoms are similar to human flu and include a sudden fever with a high temperature, chills, fatigue, coughing, sore throat, headaches, swollen joints etc, although swine flu victims also report vomiting and diarrhoea.
While swine flu is treatable, there is no vaccine available yet to protect against it.
- For more information, see the WHO swine flu FAQ
Steps against 'foreign' diseases
Simon Streicher, chief executive officer of the South African Pork Producers Organisation, told BuaNews that the flu strain was a mutant human strain with some genetic material from versions of the strains usually found in birds and pigs.
Streicher said that since the outbreak of exotic viral diseases such as classical swine fever in recent years, South Africa had taken steps to reduce the risk of importing "foreign" diseases.
These steps include the compartmentalisation of commercial herds, ongoing training and education in biosecurity for pig farming operations, and strict import protocols for live pigs, semen and pork products.
He said no decision had been taken at this stage to follow Russia's example in banning imports of pork or related products from Mexico or the US.
Source: BuaNews
