World health experts believe South Africa is one of the most vulnerable countries to the H1N1 virus. Health experts attended an H1N1 symposium in Johannesburg on Monday as the world prepares for a fresh outbreak of the deadly virus.
There were more than 13,000 confirmed cases of swine flu in South Africa in recent months, and 91 deaths. But the experts reckon that could just be the start.
Research from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) shows some alarming trends. More than half the H1N1 fatalities were among people who were HIV positive.
Given the level of HIV infection in the country, that makes South Africa a particularly strong target for the H1N1 strain.
NICD director Professor Barry Schoub said “there is a lot of travel and the virus will be re-introduced to South Africa.”
I think we can expect there will be an introduction before the winter season, and how extensively it will spread once it’s introduced, that we really don’t know,” he pointed out.
More than a quarter of the fatalities were also pregnant. The South African Health Department says it is presently trying to secure a million vaccine doses.
Source African Press Agency
