Yemen chairs urgent meeting for confronting swine flu in Gulf States

RIYADH, May 27 (Saba) - Yemen chaired on Wednesday the urgent
meeting of liaison officers' standing committee for combating swine
flue in the Gulf States and Yemen held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh,
with participation of experts from the regional office of World
Health Organization (WHO) for the Middle East.

Head of the meeting and General Director of Disease Control and
Epidemiological Surveillance in Ministry of Health and Public
Population Abdul-Hakim al-Kohlani made it clear that the meeting
approved the general frame of the Gulf plan for protection from
swine flue.

Al-Kohlani added that the meeting also ratified the readiness of GCC
countries and Yemen regarding unifying the surveillance system and
the taken measures according to the international legislations
issued by WHO and the other research centres.

Al-Kohlani indicated that the meeting affirmed providing strategic
stocks of medicine according to the circumstances of each country
and delayed deciding the vaccine subject till the meeting of the
National Advisory Committees on Immunization of the GCC countries
and Yemen.

The participants agreed upon the precautionary measures taken in the
air and sea ports and no need to take any measures in the land ports
so far, al-Kohlani added.

Furthermore, the meeting also approved the audio awareness onboard
of airplanes for the travellers coming from the affected countries
(the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Spain, UK, Japan and others).

In addition, meeting emphasized on focusing on combating the
infection in hospitals, the preventive means, supporting liaison
officers' role in their countries, and the mutual communication
between the Gulf states and Yemen by reporting about any confirmed
cases via sending SMS to the executive office of the GCC Council of
Health Ministers and the WHO's country office .

It is worthy to mention that Yemen heads the 23rd round of the GCC
Council of Health Ministers.