One day after samples of eight suspected cases of influenza H1N1 2009 were brought to the Central Laboratory (CL) in Kabul from Afghanistan’s central-west province of Ghor, a rapid test showed two were swine flu and the rest seasonal flu. The second step will be to verify the diagnosis through a Polymerize Chain Reaction (PCR) test.
“Now we are blessed with technology, I will send the final results to our health officer in Ghor by email,” said Ghulam Eshan Shariffi, director of the CL.
However, the two patients will not know about their illness for at least a week after they were suspected to have the deadly and contagious virus.
Both will receive Tamiflu medicine from the provincial health department free of charge, health officials said. In May the UN World Health Organization (WHO) donated 30,360 adult doses of Tamiflu capsules (costing US$500,000) to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), which have been distributed to all 34 provinces.
Swine flu was first reported among international forces in Afghanistan in July but the virus has now spread to different parts of the country and thus far 835 cases have been confirmed (503 Afghans and 332 foreigners). The disease has killed at least 14 Afghans as of 23 November, according to the MoPH.
No time for complacency
More than 500 H1N1 cases were reported by the MoPH between 1 and 17 November (average 29 cases per day) but only 15 new cases have been reported over the past week (average two cases per day).
“We have seen a slump in the number of suspected cases sent to us for diagnosis,” said Shariffi.
However, a reduction in the number of cases tested and confirmed by the CL does not mean the virus is on the run in Afghanistan.
“The H1N1 threat is still strong and there is no time for complacency,” warned Farid Raaid, MoPH’s spokesman.
As the winter sets in, concerns are mounting about the vulnerability of millions of Afghans to influenza and other seasonal respiratory diseases.
Reliable but expensive
Afghanistan only has one virology laboratory capable of diagnosing the H1N1 virus but about 200 surveillance units have been established across the country to quickly report suspicious flu cases.
Health workers send samples of suspected influenza cases to the CL in special virus transport kits by air or land, which in some cases takes up to a week.
“We keep the samples in refrigerators first for rapid tests and then for possible PCR tests,” said Shariffi.
Donors have supported the CL with equipment, machinery and staff training.
“Our diagnostics are 100 percent reliable,” said Shariffi, adding that the CL was a member of the Global Influenza Surveillance Network and backed by WHO.
After a national health emergency was declared on 1 November and all schools and universities were ordered to close, hundreds of suspected influenza cases have been sent to the CL for diagnosis every day. However, the authorities decided to reopen all schools from 23 November to 12 December to allow 7.5 million schoolchildren to take exams.
“A rapid test costs about $10 and a PCR is even more expensive,” said Shariffi, adding that every sample could not go through the tests due to financial and capacity constraints.
“We had hundreds of samples from an army unit and a school in Kabul but we only did random tests and found out that the virus had infected both locations,” he said.
Vaccines for health workers
Worldwide, about 80 million doses of vaccine have been distributed and about 65 million people have been vaccinated so far, according to WHO.
“We look forward to receiving over 500,000 doses of the vaccine in early December and health workers are top of the beneficiary list,” Raaid of the MoPH told IRIN.
The country has also requested funding for $144 million worth of Tamiflu, medical equipment, vaccines and other resources to fight swine flu.
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“Now we are blessed with technology, I will send the final results to our health officer in Ghor by email,” said Ghulam Eshan Shariffi, director of the CL.
However, the two patients will not know about their illness for at least a week after they were suspected to have the deadly and contagious virus.
Both will receive Tamiflu medicine from the provincial health department free of charge, health officials said. In May the UN World Health Organization (WHO) donated 30,360 adult doses of Tamiflu capsules (costing US$500,000) to the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), which have been distributed to all 34 provinces.
Swine flu was first reported among international forces in Afghanistan in July but the virus has now spread to different parts of the country and thus far 835 cases have been confirmed (503 Afghans and 332 foreigners). The disease has killed at least 14 Afghans as of 23 November, according to the MoPH.
No time for complacency
More than 500 H1N1 cases were reported by the MoPH between 1 and 17 November (average 29 cases per day) but only 15 new cases have been reported over the past week (average two cases per day).
“We have seen a slump in the number of suspected cases sent to us for diagnosis,” said Shariffi.
However, a reduction in the number of cases tested and confirmed by the CL does not mean the virus is on the run in Afghanistan.
“The H1N1 threat is still strong and there is no time for complacency,” warned Farid Raaid, MoPH’s spokesman.
As the winter sets in, concerns are mounting about the vulnerability of millions of Afghans to influenza and other seasonal respiratory diseases.
Reliable but expensive
Afghanistan only has one virology laboratory capable of diagnosing the H1N1 virus but about 200 surveillance units have been established across the country to quickly report suspicious flu cases.
Health workers send samples of suspected influenza cases to the CL in special virus transport kits by air or land, which in some cases takes up to a week.
“We keep the samples in refrigerators first for rapid tests and then for possible PCR tests,” said Shariffi.
Donors have supported the CL with equipment, machinery and staff training.
“Our diagnostics are 100 percent reliable,” said Shariffi, adding that the CL was a member of the Global Influenza Surveillance Network and backed by WHO.
After a national health emergency was declared on 1 November and all schools and universities were ordered to close, hundreds of suspected influenza cases have been sent to the CL for diagnosis every day. However, the authorities decided to reopen all schools from 23 November to 12 December to allow 7.5 million schoolchildren to take exams.
“A rapid test costs about $10 and a PCR is even more expensive,” said Shariffi, adding that every sample could not go through the tests due to financial and capacity constraints.
“We had hundreds of samples from an army unit and a school in Kabul but we only did random tests and found out that the virus had infected both locations,” he said.
Vaccines for health workers
Worldwide, about 80 million doses of vaccine have been distributed and about 65 million people have been vaccinated so far, according to WHO.
“We look forward to receiving over 500,000 doses of the vaccine in early December and health workers are top of the beneficiary list,” Raaid of the MoPH told IRIN.
The country has also requested funding for $144 million worth of Tamiflu, medical equipment, vaccines and other resources to fight swine flu.
ad/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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