|
Sunday, 14 June 2009 13:49 |
|
KUWAIT CITY, June 13, (KUNA): The thermal infrared cameras that have been introduced to Kuwait International Airport recently have been distributed in a way to cover all arrivals, a senior medical official said on Saturday. “The cameras will help detect any infection case with H1N1 virus among the passengers arriving in the country including the transit travelers,” Director of Public Health Department of the Health Ministry Dr Rashed Al-Owaish said in statements to KUNA. “The move by the state of Kuwait takes place after the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded the pandemic level to the sixth degree,” he noted. “Six thermal infrared cameras have been fixed at the terminals of the airport and are working around the clock under strict supervision of specialized medical teams,” Al-Owaish affirmed.
The highly sophisticated imaging system is able to survey up to 150 passengers every five minutes. “It can produce timely data on any passenger whose temperature is above the normal level of 37.5º Celsius,” he said, noting that the symptoms of the Influenza A subtype H1N1are similar to those of the common influenza. Under the newly-adopted medical regulations provide any passenger arriving in the country should fill two copies of a form, keep one for themselves and give the other to the medical authorities at the airport. The form includes data on the passengers such as their phone numbers to help the authorities call them in if need be. When the authorities suspect that a passenger is inflected with the fatal virus they summon them and refer them to a specialized hospital, he explained. Meanwhile, Al-Owaish reaffirmed that the state of Kuwait is free of the pandemic known also as swine flu to date. The Ministry of Health has tightened the preventive measures against the highly contagious disease since its early outbreak in Mexico in tune with the WHO guidelines, he added.
Meeting
In the meantime, the Ministry of Health here on Saturday announced it will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss latest developments on the A-H1N1 pandemic, or swine flu, and procedures to be taken in light of raising alert level to 6 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The meeting of the joint higher committee aims at following up on preventive measures to be taken here in coordination with concerned bodies and according to international standards, Health Ministry Spokesman Dr Youssef Al-Nisf told KUNA. Raising alert level does not mean that the virus became more dangerous, yet it indicated that the geographical stretch of it had widened, Al-Nisf said, adding that the ministry is keeping up with latest updates on the outbreak by putting an emergency plan, installing thermal cameras at the airport and issuing pamphlets for doctors of government and private sectors on how to deal with suspected cases.
The official pointed out that the ministry has a reserve of 10 million medication capsules enough to treat one million cases. He further said that, in Kuwait, there are three types of medications for swine flu; Tamiflu tablets, previously used in treating bird flu, and Relenza spray, as well as a syrup for children. The joint committee groups the health minister and undersecretary, as well as assistant undersecretaries and representatives from the Ministry of Information and the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fisheries among others. The committee is tasked with providing medication for the public, setting up an awareness plan and exchanging information with WHO and other Arab and regional bodies. WHO had raised the pandemic alert to phase-6, the top level on its six-point scale, which, according to the organization, reflected the geographic spread of the virus but did not indicate the severity of the influenza (A) H1N1 pandemic.
Source: Arab Times
|
