RIYADH: A 33-year-old Saudi man in Riyadh became the ninth swine flu death in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday.
“He was treated for H1N1 and he died Sunday night following five days of hospitalization,” Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani told Arab News on Monday. He added that both the names of the patient and the concerned hospital are withheld due to recent policies adopted by his ministry to protect the privacy of the deceased and their next of kin.
Al-Mirghalani also refuted rumors of a swine flu death in Dammam recently.
“The person who died in Dammam was not due to H1N1,” Al-Mirghalani said, adding that the Ministry of Health is the official source for factual swine flu information.
Seven of the nine fatalities have been Saudis from Asir, Al-Qassim, Najran, Riyadh and Dammam.
An Indonesian housemaid from Dammam and a 31-year-old Sri Lankan who came to Riyadh on business constitutes the other fatalities.
The Lankan man had tried to seek treatment for his condition but ended up dying in his hotel room after failing to be admitted to area hospitals.
Since May 27, when the first confirmed cases of swine flu appeared in the Kingdom, more than 700 cases of swine flu have been identified with 95 percent of these patients fully recuperated. Al-Mirghalani said most of the cases have been identified in people aged 10 to 35, as well as a few infants.
“Although, we have a full fledged team of quarantine officials at all entry points supported with thermal cameras, some of the patients tend to slip through the network since they develop the fever some days after their arrival,” said the ministry spokesman.
“Segregating the patient and keeping away from them are two basic principles that should be followed by others.”
The Ministry of Health has organized a training program for health officials on Tuesday at Prince Sultan Auditorium in the capital.
“This is a program for the health officials, who deal with swine flu in the central region,” said Dr. Hisham Nadra, director general of the Riyadh Health Affairs Directorate.
The Health Affairs Directorate in Tabuk has announced a plan to deal with swine flu for pilgrims, a local daily reported recently.
