Expat dies of MERS in Jeddah; 8 infected

Via Saudi Gazette, excerpt :

" A foreigner has died from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) while eight people including five health workers have been infected in Jeddah, where the spread of the coronavirus among medics has sparked panic.

The death of the 45-year-old man, whose nationality has not been disclosed, brings the nationwide toll in the world’s most-affected country to 68.

The Health Ministry late Saturday announced the death of the man and said five health workers – two women and three men – and three other people had been infected by the virus in Jeddah.

The announcement came days after panic over the spread of the virus among medical staff led to the closure of the emergency room at the city’s main public hospital."

Saudi Arabia : Special labs in Madinah, Mina for MERS tests

Via Saudi Gazette :

" The Ministry of Health has assigned two laboratories to test suspected cases of MERS-CoV infection, Deputy Health Minister for Public Health and Head of the National Scientific Committee for Infectious Diseases Dr. Ziad Maimish announced at a press conference here on Sunday.

Regional MoH laboratory in Madinah and that of Mina Al-Wadi Hospital in Mina will work along with the labs in Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province.

Arrangements have been made to get the results from these labs within four hours, said Dr. Maimish.

Dr. Maimish said that so far 114 MERS cases have been reported in the Kingdom, of which there were 49 deaths.

The Ministry of Health has formed medical teams and set up preventative measures at points of entry to the Kingdom to monitor arriving pilgrims, verify their compliance with health regulations, and vaccinate those who have not been vaccinated.

The National Scientific Committee for Infectious Diseases said that reports compiled during the past 24 hours found no infection cases among the pilgrims who have already arrived in the Kingdom."

Saudi Arabia : Dengue larvae found in seven Makkah schools

Via The Saudi Gazette :

" Swarms of dengue mosquitoes have been discovered at seven schools in Al-Sharayeh District. The infestation at male and female schools is believed to have been caused by poor maintenance of water coolers and toilets.

The Makkah Mayoralty has called on principals to fix the problem right away to prevent an outbreak of dengue fever. However a source told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that “male and female students at some of these schools have got fever and symptoms similar to those of dengue fever”.

The discovery was made by the mayoralty’s dengue fever teams who were paying a routine visit to the school to spray insecticides. However, when they tested water coolers they discovered small worms of dengue mosquitoes in the water.

The teams are now urging all schools to clean and sterilize water coolers once every two weeks.

The head of hygiene and cleaning, Saleh Ezzat, said: “The insecticides are effective for three months and Health Affairs registered only two cases of dengue fever during the previous period."

Saudi Arabia : Dengue fever at epidemic proportions - Health official

Article from Saudi Gazette :

" JEDDAH: Dengue fever is at epidemic proportions in Jeddah and will be hard to eradicate, according to Dr. Sami Eid, Assistant Director General of Health Affairs in Jeddah for Primary Health Care.

Eid said the situation has worsened over the last few years because of the heavy downpours and floods in the governorate.

Even though there has been a 50 percent drop in infected patients so far this year, compared to the same period last year, there are joint plans underway to eradicate the disease by the Jeddah Mayoralty, Ministry of Agriculture and Health Affairs.

He said a preventive program is underway, which includes awareness campaigns on how residents can protect themselves."

Saudi Arabia : 11 dengue fever cases in Jeddah

An article rom Saudi Gazette :

" JEDDAH: Jeddah Health Affairs has announced 11 confirmed cases of dengue fever but reassured the public that there is “no cause for alarm”, saying that the figure is not as high as previous years.

“As a whole, the situation is not worrying, because there are only 11 confirmed cases of dengue fever out of a suspected 32 reported this week,” said Sami Badawoud, head of Jeddah Health Affairs. “The figure is okay compared to last year.”

He also noted that the Mayor’s Office is responsible for fighting the illness, while Health Affairs is tasked with “promoting awareness”. The tasks of the two authorities, he said, are clearly defined and do not clash.

“The mayoralty is directly responsible for combating dengue fever and surveillance of the breeding grounds and Health Affairs has only an awareness role,” he said."

Saudi Arabia : Nine hospitals on dengue fever alert

Via The Saudi Gazette :

" JEDDAH: Nine Ministry of Health hospitals have been put on alert ahead of an expected rise in dengue fever cases, with Jeddah Health Affairs saying that “all the right conditions are in place” for mosquitoes to proliferate.

The move also follows a significant rise in the number of suspected cases since the Jeddah floods of two weeks ago.

According to Health Affairs chief Sami Badawoud, all hospitals have been supplied with testing equipment for dengue fever and samples are sent as a matter of urgency to the regional laboratory for analysis."

Saudi Arabia : 2,219 cases of dengue fever in Jeddah

Via Saudi Gazette :

" JEDDAH: A Makkah Health Affairs official has said there are 26 significant mosquito breeding ground sites in Jeddah and that greater efforts are required to eradicate them, particularly in the face of 2,219 recorded cases of Dengue fever.

“The Ministry of Health has reports confirming those figures,” the official said. “The ministry promotes public awareness and provides medical attention, while the Mayor’s Office is working hard to tackle the problem.

”Local authorities are frequently bombarded with complaints from the Jeddah public. Residents of Al-Haramain District have expressed their concern over an increase in mosquitoes due to stagnant areas of water left by last week’s rains.“The number of mosquitoes is on they rise,” one local said.

“We have complained to the mayoralty and the National Water Company.”Pupils from a school in Al-Ajwad also registered a formal complaint with the mayoralty over large areas of stagnant water in front of the premises and demanded the water be pumped away.

Ali Al-Qahtani, Deputy Mayor for Planning, said a committee with representatives from the mayoralty and the ministries of Health and Agriculture takes swift action over mosquito breeding grounds and other sources of Dengue fever."

Saudi Arabia : 2 pilgrims down with swine flu

Via Saudi Gazette :

" RIYADH: The Ministry of Health has announced that it has detected H1N1 (swine flu) in two female pilgrims, aged 26 and 52, who arrived from a European and an east Asian country, respectively.

A 41-year-old man from Africa was diagnosed with cholera. The cases were discovered by the ministry’s monitoring unit. The ministry said the women had been infected in their countries. They were diagnosed as soon as they arrived and were given the necessary treatment. One of the patients has already left the hospital and is in a good condition while the other person is in hospital in a stable condition.

The African man is also being treated and those with whom he had contact."

Saudi Arabia : 32-year-old Saudi woman dies of swine flu in Asir

An article from Saudi Gazette, excerpt :

" ABHA: A 32-year-old Saudi woman admitted to hospital in Asir on Sept. 26 with A(H1N1) swine flu died from the virus Sunday morning, the Ministry of Health Affairs said.

“The patient was given a full dose of the medicine for the virus as well as antibiotics, and all the proper preventive measures were taken for such cases from the moment she was admitted to hospital,” the ministry said. “She did not respond to treatment.”

A teenaged boy with swine flu was also admitted to a private hospital in Jeddah in the first week of October.

In 2009, the Kingdom reported 124 swine flu deaths."

Saudi Arabia : Teen admitted with swine flu

Via The Saudi Gazette :

" JEDDAH: A private hospital in Jeddah has released a report revealing that a 13-year-old boy has been admitted with swine flu.

The report said that before admittance to hospital the child had been given Tamiflu but when his condition worsened medication was ceased.Officials from Health Affairs and the mayoralty later sprayed the boy’s home as a precautionary measure.

Adil Turkistani, the head of Preventive Medicine at the Primary Healthcare Department, said that the hospital had initially supplied a defective analysis sample and that only a second test confirmed the boy had swine flu."

Saudi Arabia : Flu on the rise, people urged to get vaccinated

Via Saudi Gazette, flu cases increases :

" JEDDAH: Seasonal flu is on the rise and doctors are urging people to get flu vaccinations at primary health centers across the Kingdom as a precaution against respiratory ailments like fever and dry cough, according to doctors at the Dammam Central Hospital (DCH) emergency room.

“The ER continues to receive cases of upper respiratory complaints, often associated with slight fever and dizziness, common to people who have contracted the flu,” said a doctor on duty at the unit. He said it is important for citizens and foreign workers to get flu shots during this period when the weather changes."