ID :
70362
Tue, 07/14/2009 - 17:11
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/70362
The shortlink copeid
(News Focus) S. Korea must focus on stemming H1N1's local spread: experts
By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) - In a shift from its current containment strategy, South
Korea should crank up efforts to prevent local transmission of Influenza A as the
number of such cases is feared to rise, medical experts say.
With most of the country's reported infections traced to inbound travelers, local
health authorities have been zeroing in on monitoring all passengers arriving
from affected countries and quarantining suspected or confirmed cases for
treatment.
As of Tuesday, South Korea reported 535 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, with
410 of them being inbound travelers. Of the total, 173 people remained in
isolation for treatment with the remainder having been sent home after showing no
further symptoms. No deaths have been reported so far.
However, concern is growing that a massive outbreak of locally transmitted cases
may be imminent. According to health officials, four patients are believed to
have been infected with the disease without making overseas trips or having had
contact with other patients.
"Only a few cases of suspected local transmission have been found so far, but
there is a possibility (the virus) has knowingly or unknowingly entered the
country," Kim Chang-oh, a professor of internal medicine at Yonsei University,
said.
"In this regard, now is the time to ramp up efforts to prevent the spread of the
disease within the country and take care of potentially high-risk patients."
Despite fears the spread of the illness is picking up pace, the professor said,
the current system of containment is not designed to diagnose and cure potential
type-A flu patients who have not crossed borders.
"Right now, only those who have traveled abroad and show symptoms are closely
monitored and treated," said Kim. "So if someone who has not traveled abroad
shows similar flu-like symptoms, it is difficult to diagnose them at local
hospitals."
What South Korean medical experts call for is a shift from containment to
mitigation, which the World Health Organization describes as "minimizing the
consequences of diseases for individuals and society as a whole."
The Web site of the global health body says such a shift is necessary when it
becomes clear that influenza A "will remain high on the public health agenda for
the foreseeable future."
Rising calls for a change in tackling Influenza A also come as medical experts
expect the number of Influenza A patients to surge this fall, timed with the
annual flu season, making matters worse.
"In the fall, there will be more patients who require intensive treatment for
illnesses like pneumonia," said Oh Myoung-don, who teaches internal medicine at
Seoul National University, one of South Korea's most prestigious schools.
"Proactive measures are needed to reduce the number patients who could develop
severe illnesses and facilitate a speedy recovery for those in serious
condition."
"But we are already too behind to take such measures. Fall is only a couple of
months away," Oh added.
Although South Korean health officials agree that widespread local transmission
is "imminent," containment should remain a priority until early-to-mid August
when the rate of the virus's spread can be determined, they said.
"Other countries have moved to mitigation from containment because they have
failed to contain the virus," Kwon Jun-wook, director of the communicable disease
control division at the South Korean health ministry, said. "Containment could
contribute to weakening the first wave of the new flu."
The government plans to spend 174.8 billion won (US $134.4 million) on securing
vaccine stockpiles. It says the stockpile should be enough to vaccinate 27 percent
of the nation's 49 million population, though it remains uncertain when the
vaccines will be available to the public.
Other Asian countries, including Malaysia, China, Singapore and Japan, have
already moved to mitigation from containment in an effort to better utilize
medical facilities and human resources for high-risk patients.
"Japan revised its strategy to mitigation more than three weeks ago," Oh of Seoul
National University said. "Managing the spread is impossible in the fall, if you
look at countries like Chile and Australia," which are currently undergoing their
fall flu seasons.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) - In a shift from its current containment strategy, South
Korea should crank up efforts to prevent local transmission of Influenza A as the
number of such cases is feared to rise, medical experts say.
With most of the country's reported infections traced to inbound travelers, local
health authorities have been zeroing in on monitoring all passengers arriving
from affected countries and quarantining suspected or confirmed cases for
treatment.
As of Tuesday, South Korea reported 535 confirmed cases of the H1N1 virus, with
410 of them being inbound travelers. Of the total, 173 people remained in
isolation for treatment with the remainder having been sent home after showing no
further symptoms. No deaths have been reported so far.
However, concern is growing that a massive outbreak of locally transmitted cases
may be imminent. According to health officials, four patients are believed to
have been infected with the disease without making overseas trips or having had
contact with other patients.
"Only a few cases of suspected local transmission have been found so far, but
there is a possibility (the virus) has knowingly or unknowingly entered the
country," Kim Chang-oh, a professor of internal medicine at Yonsei University,
said.
"In this regard, now is the time to ramp up efforts to prevent the spread of the
disease within the country and take care of potentially high-risk patients."
Despite fears the spread of the illness is picking up pace, the professor said,
the current system of containment is not designed to diagnose and cure potential
type-A flu patients who have not crossed borders.
"Right now, only those who have traveled abroad and show symptoms are closely
monitored and treated," said Kim. "So if someone who has not traveled abroad
shows similar flu-like symptoms, it is difficult to diagnose them at local
hospitals."
What South Korean medical experts call for is a shift from containment to
mitigation, which the World Health Organization describes as "minimizing the
consequences of diseases for individuals and society as a whole."
The Web site of the global health body says such a shift is necessary when it
becomes clear that influenza A "will remain high on the public health agenda for
the foreseeable future."
Rising calls for a change in tackling Influenza A also come as medical experts
expect the number of Influenza A patients to surge this fall, timed with the
annual flu season, making matters worse.
"In the fall, there will be more patients who require intensive treatment for
illnesses like pneumonia," said Oh Myoung-don, who teaches internal medicine at
Seoul National University, one of South Korea's most prestigious schools.
"Proactive measures are needed to reduce the number patients who could develop
severe illnesses and facilitate a speedy recovery for those in serious
condition."
"But we are already too behind to take such measures. Fall is only a couple of
months away," Oh added.
Although South Korean health officials agree that widespread local transmission
is "imminent," containment should remain a priority until early-to-mid August
when the rate of the virus's spread can be determined, they said.
"Other countries have moved to mitigation from containment because they have
failed to contain the virus," Kwon Jun-wook, director of the communicable disease
control division at the South Korean health ministry, said. "Containment could
contribute to weakening the first wave of the new flu."
The government plans to spend 174.8 billion won (US $134.4 million) on securing
vaccine stockpiles. It says the stockpile should be enough to vaccinate 27 percent
of the nation's 49 million population, though it remains uncertain when the
vaccines will be available to the public.
Other Asian countries, including Malaysia, China, Singapore and Japan, have
already moved to mitigation from containment in an effort to better utilize
medical facilities and human resources for high-risk patients.
"Japan revised its strategy to mitigation more than three weeks ago," Oh of Seoul
National University said. "Managing the spread is impossible in the fall, if you
look at countries like Chile and Australia," which are currently undergoing their
fall flu seasons.
ylee@yna.co.kr
(END)
