Special working group to monitor swine flu

The Health Ministry has formed a special working group to monitor the current epidemiological situation in the country. This comes in view of the outbreak of swine flu which has infected many people in the United States and Mexico. Special working group to monitor swine flu It was reported earlier on Monday that the airports in Belgrade and Nis are on high level alert after swine flu broke out in Mexico and spread to America, New Zealand and Spain. A member of the Health Ministry’s pandemic flu work group Branislav Tijodorovic told daily Blic that all passengers coming from abroad, especially America and Mexico, will have to be checked out and interviewed by the sanitary inspection. He said that the Institute for Infective and Tropical Diseases in Belgrade and the Infective Clinic in Nis, Novi Sad and Kragujevac will be accepting all patients that believe they may have gotten the virus. “What has happened is something everyone in the world of epidemiology fears, and that is that pigs are a source of the virus. After the mutation of the virus, the infection can now be passed from person to person. The World Health Organization declared it as the fourth phase of flu transmission,” Tijodorovic explained. Serbia has prohibited the import of pork from Latin America since the flu broke out. President of the Health Ministries Flu work group, Predrag Kon, said that the group is constantly working and that there will be an evaluation of the epidemiological situation by the end of the week. He recommended to Serbs in Mexico and America to follow the recommendations of local health officials, adding that if people come back to Serbia from one of those countries and have a high temperature or are breathing with difficulty, to go and see a doctor. Kon said that Serbia is not directly at risk and that it is good news that the virus is reacting to some existing medicine.

Special working group to monitor swine flu

It was reported earlier on Monday that the airports in Belgrade and Niš are on high level alert after swine flu broke out in Mexico and spread to America, New Zealand and Spain.

A member of the Health Ministry’s pandemic flu work group Branislav Tijodorović told daily Blic that all passengers coming from abroad, especially America and Mexico, will have to be checked out and interviewed by the sanitary inspection.

He said that the Institute for Infective and Tropical Diseases in Belgrade and the Infective Clinic in Niš, Novi Sad and Kragujevac will be accepting all patients that believe they may have gotten the virus.

“What has happened is something everyone in the world of epidemiology fears, and that is that pigs are a source of the virus. After the mutation of the virus, the infection can now be passed from person to person. The World Health Organization declared it as the fourth phase of flu transmission,” Tijodorović explained.

Serbia has prohibited the import of pork from Latin America since the flu broke out.

President of the Health Ministries Flu work group, Predrag Kon, said that the group is constantly working and that there will be an evaluation of the epidemiological situation by the end of the week.

He recommended to Serbs in Mexico and America to follow the recommendations of local health officials, adding that if people come back to Serbia from one of those countries and have a high temperature or are breathing with difficulty, to go and see a doctor.

Kon said that Serbia is not directly at risk and that it is good news that the virus is reacting to some existing medicine.