THE Ministry of Health has increased its efforts to educate the public about A(H1N1) influenza, or swine flu, after the World Health Organisation raised the pandemic warning for the disease to phase 6 – its highest alert level – on June 11.

Dr Soe Lwin Nyein, the director of the ministry’s Epidemiology Department, said the department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information, will distribute educational flyers about A(H1N1) influenza to rural areas throughout the country.

Since April the department has been placing announcements in state newspapers aimed at raising awareness about the disease. The Ministry of Health has also asked people to remain vigilant about A(H1N1) in crowded places such as schools, workplaces and homes for aged.

“We ask teachers to allow students who are sick to take leave, and to pay extra attention to those students who are sick for more than a week,” Dr Soe Lwin Nyein said.

He said the department, in collaboration with the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, has also kept tabs on tourists who visit Myanmar from countries where A(H1N1) influenza outbreaks have occurred.

“Last month an international cruise ship carrying passengers from Mexico and America arrived in Myanmar. They visited Kyauktan, Bago and Inle Lake. We kept them under constant surveillance for 10 days,” he said.

Dr Soe Lwin Nyein said the ministry has also remained vigilant at all entry points into Myanmar, including airports, seaports and border areas.

“Since April 28 we have screened 1.5 million people for swine flu at all entry points, whether or not they have shown symptoms. We have kept 4000 suspected cases under home surveillance,” he said.

He said the ministry has also opened a Strategic Health Operation Centre at Yangon General Hospital to provide service 24 hours a day.

“People can inform us anytime if they find any suspected cases,” he said.
But Dr Soe Lwin Nyein said that during the monsoon period many people in Myanmar suffer from seasonal influenza, whose symptoms are similar to swine flu.

“A factory informed us that some of their staff were suffering from flu and they suspected it was A(H1N1),” he said. “We went to the factory and conducted laboratory tests, and found that they were suffering from seasonal flu, which has nearly the same symptoms as A(H1N1).”

“Fortunately, we have not found any A(H1N1) cases in Myanmar up to now,” he added.

Dr Soe Lwin Nyein said the Ministry of Health is also working closely with private clinics to monitor the situation.

“We emphasise prevention in all aspects. We don’t want to miss any cases of A(H1N1) if they break out in Myanmar,” he said.

A(H1N1), which emerged in Mexico in April, has killed 231 people worldwide and infected more than 52,000 people in over 100 countries and territories.