Fifth confirmed case of swine flu

A Maldivian man tested positive for swine flu today making him the fifth confirmed case in the country to date.

The 28-year-old returned to Male’ from Sri Lanka on Monday and will now be quarantined on Hulhule’ island for seven days.

Another man, a Japanese tourist, is also currently in the facility. The 26-year-old tested positive for swine flu at the ADK hospital after arriving in the country from a Sri Lankan airline flight earlier this week.

“Since swine flu is still spreading in countries that Maldivians usually travel to, the ministry urges all travellers to take precautionary measures and seek information about the countries,” a press release from the ministry of the health said today.

Symptoms of the disease include a running nose, cough, fever, sneezing and shortness of breath.

At a press conference in July, Ahmed Solih, permanent secretary at the tourism ministry, said it was likely that tourist arrivals would drop because of swine flu.

He said it was important to provide information to tourists to reassure them the Maldives was prepared for a pandemic.

“What is important is their trust,” he said. “The work in the resorts, airlines and airport is being done jointly with our ministry.”

According to the latest statistics from the World Health Organisation, there have been more than 375,000 laboratory confirmed cases of the influenza and more than 4,500 deaths.

The organisation notes that as many countries have stopped counting indiviual cases, particularly of milder illness, the case count is significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred.

In July, the WHO said the H1N1 virus could infect two billion people over the next two years.

The health ministry asks all those with symptoms of flu and common cold to contact the national emergency operation centre at 3304829.