| Health Minister: No room for panic |
| 7 November 2009 | 09:40
| Source:
B92, FoNet, Beta |
BELGRADE --
Health Minister Tomica Milosavljeviæ said that there is no room for panic, even though Serbia is close to proclaiming a swine flu pandemic.
 | Predrag Kon and Tomica Milosavljeviæ (FoNet)
|
Epidemiologist Predrag Kon said that several municipalities have a huge number of infected persons, but that the epidemic will only be proclaimed once the virus starts spreading through the capital city of Belgrade.
If the epidemiological situation moves to a dangerous phase, one of the first preventive measures will be a prohibition of public gatherings and a closing of kindergartens and preschools.
Kon, who is the president of the Health Ministry’s working group for following the epidemic, said that the criteria for proclaiming an epidemic is that more than 10 percent of the population must be infected.
He said that if an epidemic is proclaimed, there will be a so-called emergency immunization, once the vaccine arrives.
There are currently 229 confirmed cases of the swine flu in Serbia, 84 in the last week alone.
Kon also said that doctors should not wait for a laboratory confirmation of the case before starting to give the patients anti-viral medication.
Health Minister Milosavljeviæ said that the epidemiological situation is difficult, but that there should be no panicking because of it.
He said that Serbia does not have any medical centers that do not have respirators and that speculation should stop regarding stories that some patients died because they were not able to receive the proper care.
“It is not true that there are health centers that do not have respirators. There are over 350 respirators in the country plus respirators in intensive care, and four people on respirators currently,” Milosavljeviæ said.
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