CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Only case of Influenza A in Cuba progressing favorably

CUBA, May 13, 2009. THE only confirmed case in Cuba of Influenza A H1N1, a Mexican medical student, is progressing favorably, Manuel Santín, national director of Epidemiology, confirmed on the "Roundtable" television program.

He stated that 13 compatriots of the young man, who displayed symptoms after returning from vacations in Mexico, underwent prophylactic treatment with antivirals, and all cases were progressing satisfactorily, without any new case of the illness having been detected to date.

Santín recalled that the World Heath Organization (WHO) has reported that 5,728 people have contracted Infuenza A H1N1 in 33 countries, the majority of them in the United States.

Speaking on the "Informative Roundtable," Luis Estruch Rancaño, deputy minister of public health, emphasized that Cuba is working diligently from a scientific and logistic point of view to face the threat posed by the pandemic.

He specified that people should not neglect personal and collective hygiene measures as effective forms of prevention and that the population should remain calm, given that Cuba has the means and medicines needed for both children and adults, in addition to highly trained personnel.

He listed a number of measures adopted including epidemiological vigilance in airports, ports and marinas, where temperature sensors have been installed to detect the presence of fever in passengers.

The panelists highlighted Cuba’s capacity to confront the disease that is rapidly expanding around the planet with significant human and economic consequences, primarily in spheres like tourism, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. (Cubaminrex- AIN)

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