Chandapiwa Baputaki
3 July 2009
The Ministry of Health has appealed to diplomats in Botswana for assistance in fighting the influenza pandemic, H1N1 2009, should it affect Botswana.
Briefing the diplomats on the pandemic at an event held this week at the GICC in Gaborone, the permanent secretary in the MoH, Newman Kahiya, revealed that the ministry still has challenges and it is in need of assistance to augment the stock of antivirals, personal protective clothing, funding for the dissemination of information, communication materials and building of laboratory capacity to perform tests within the country.
He revealed that they are still sending specimens to South Africa for analysis and verification.
"As an appeal to you, we welcome any assistance you may have in this area," he said, adding that the World Health Organisation and USAID has donated medicine and medical supplies towards fighting the pandemic in the event it spills over into the country.
The permanent secretary said Botswana has not had any confirmed case of this type of influenza.
"This does not mean that we should be complacent because the pandemic influenza is communicable and spreads from human to human very quickly," he noted.
Kahiya revealed that last week there were three suspected cases of the influenza and lab results for two of the cases are negative.
"We are awaiting results of the third case. All cases have fully recovered and none are under observation," he added, while stating that there they do not place the suspected cases on isolation but require them to be home.
He explained that prevention and transmission of infectious diseases has never been more challenging due to globalisation, connectivity, speed and ease of movement across the globe.
He however noted that the MoH has been responding effectively to outbreaks of both emerging and re-emerging diseases through existing surveillance and rapid response structures.
He stated that the MoH is working with immigration and civil aviation authorities to ensure early detection as people enter and leave the country.
"We have built on the existing structures to raise the level of preparedness in the country," he said.
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