ALKHOBAR: The death of a 30-year-old Saudi man at Al-Mouwasat Hospital in Dammam on Saturday because of swine flu has created alarm among citizens and expatriates alike.

Although people have not pressed the panic button yet, there is definitely a sense of unease. The private and government medical fraternity here in the Eastern Province is doing all it can to calm the frayed nerves of the population. Understandably, hospitals are refusing to reveal any new cases.

Officials of at least three major hospitals and two prominent polyclinics in Dammam and Alkhobar refused to either confirm or deny existence of new swine flu cases.

The standard reply by hospital administrators these days is “no comment.”

One of the major reasons for administrators not to confirm swine flu cases is the lack of specific labs to test for the H1N1 virus.

“When we suspect someone is suffering from swine flu we take the tests and pass on the stuff to Riyadh. It is the labs in Riyadh which confirm the cases,” said a doctor at an Alkhobar hospital. “So if we are not able to confirm or deny the existence of swine flu cases, it is because we really don’t know.”

After the Saudi man’s death was announced Monday by the Ministry of Health, some hospitals and polyclinics reported increases in people seeking check ups.

“In many cases it is simple flu. A 500 mg paracetemol tab would do the trick, but then all these people have read about how that Saudi man who died was coughing and had a high fever,” a physician said, noting there was an urgent need to conduct an awareness campaign through the media.

“I think television channels should run special programs advising the people to take precautions and to keep away from congested places,” he said. “Yes, the virus is spreading, and the only thing we can do now is to take precautionary measures.”

Speaking informally to Arab News about quarantine measures, one hospital administrator said such measures are effective when the disease is in its initial stages.

“We are well beyond the first stage. It is out there. We can no longer isolate it. At least that is my opinion,” he said. “Let us now take all necessary steps to check the virus.”

All hospitals that Arab News contacted reported enough stock of Tamiflu and other intravenous antibiotics. However, Tamiflu is a treatment — not a preventive measure.

A random Arab News survey of Eastern Province pharmacies revealed stocks of Tamiflu at some. Another medicine said to be effective in combating the malady called Relenza appears to be unavailable.

Though Tamiflu seems to be in adequate supply, there are reports of some strain of virus being resistant to this particular medicine.

Talking to Arab News from Egypt Wednesday, Dr. Martin Opoka, an epidemiologist at the World Health Organization regional office in Cairo, said: “Until now there have been only a limited number of incidents where some strain of the virus was found to be resistant to Tamiflu. WHO collaborating centers and member states continue to monitor particularly any such changes in virological resistance, such as Tamiflu resistance in clinical presentations. It is one of the surveillance activities ongoing. So if there were resistance to Tamiflu we would know. Any cases that would be thought to be resistant are investigated. People should know that the situation is being monitored. We certainly wouldn’t want people to use what isn’t effective.”

According to Dr. Opoka, some of the severe and fatal cases of H1N1 have been with pregnant women. “Some early studies have indicated that pregnant women are liable to get more severe cases of H1N1. And of the fatal cases, some have been associated with pregnancy. It is just one of many other health conditions that may determine a more serious outcome of the disease,” he told Arab News.

He said the region is in the early phase of the pandemic. “Most countries in this region have not reported more than 50 cases. A few countries haven’t reported any single case. We don’t know whether that is due deficiency in surveillance or that they just have not found cases.”

Welfare attaches of some foreign missions have taken the initiative to inform their countrymen of various preventive measures. Awareness campaigns are being organized with the help of various hospitals to educate the people on the dos and don’ts about swine flu. Various community organizations have made arrangements to organize awareness events today.

“We have invited prominent doctors from our country to answer questions from our people regarding swine flu. A lot is being through informal Internet groups ... A lot of important information is being disseminated through various means to our community members,” said Tauseef Ahmed Kutty of India.

Meanwhile, people who get the sniffles will be wondering.

“They all seem to have the worst fears about themselves,” a physician told Arab News. “You can’t blame them. This is natural in such a situation.”

Dr. Opoka of the WHO advised everybody to stay calm. “This is a mild disease. It is not very different from seasonal influenza, but it is more rapidly spreading. So we should expect the region to very soon be more affected. And as the winter season is coming we may see more cases. People should be prepared for that. People also need to follow the health advice the WHO has already disseminated, such as the importance of hand washing.”