Three more cases of H1N1 have been diagnosed in Burma, bringing the total number of victims of the virus to 13, according to an article published in the Burmese government controlled newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
A program of the Health Ministry Department has been underway at the Rangoon International Airport to check travelers who are visiting Burma, and those Burmese who are returning from other countries.
The latest victims were 3 men who had just returned from a trip to Malaysia, according to sources, where they became infected with H1N1. The patients have been hospitalized and are being monitored closely.
In the recent wave of Health Ministry testing, designed to detect travelers infected with H1N1 at the airport, 172 travelers from flight TG -303 and 151 travelers from flight MH – 740 were checked. Due to the risk of possible exposure the department also tested 138 airport employees who had been working at Rangoon International, according to the New Light of Myanmar. In addition 17 family members of the 3 patients have also been watched closely by the Rangoon Health Ministry Department.
Of the 13 victims of H1N1 now officially diagnosed in Burma, 4 patients have recovered and been allowed to return home. The remaining patients are still receiving treatment at Way Bar Gi Hospital, Insein General Hospital, Rangoon General Hospital, Rangoon Eastern Hospital and Children’s Hospital.
According to a local source, the Burmese authorities have been conducting health checks at the border crossing points, checking every person who enters or exits Burma. However, many locals along the border area are still concerned that there are no Health Ministry checkpoints at the illegal crossing points, where people still come in and out in of the country, such as at crossings around the Three Pagoda Pass area.
“I think there are much more then 13 patients [of H1N1],” said a doctor in Rangoon. “[I think this] because the government took specially responsibility to only check at the gates of the airport. What about the day-to-day travelers who come in and out in the borders? It is easy for people to infect each other.”
According to The New Light of Myanmar, thus far over 120 people were seriously thought to have H1N1 in Burma, however after the patients were examined in the hospital, only the 13 people tested positive. The paper also reports that so far, there have been no fatalities caused by the H1N1 virus in Burma.
