Jassem Al-Foudari, the Director Operations at the Ministry of Health's (MoH) Medical Emergencies Department has announced that the department is taking preventive measures against swine flu in line with the Ministry of Interior's (MoI) plan, based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Al-Foudari said that the department had held a number of workshops for medical emergency staff on the disease and how to deal with pandemic conditions before, during and after transportation of sufferers
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The department has provided all ambulance centers with special protective clothing to prevent any contamination with the virus, while one ambulance in every health zone has been designated specifically for swine flu cases. Once individuals suffering from the disease have been transferred to hospital, technicians sterilize the vehicles inside and out, as well as the equipment used, as per the WHO's recommendations.

The Medical Emergencies Department has been working closely with border centers and Kuwait International Airport in case of any discovery of swine flu in people coming into the country, and has also been training teams in sterilization methods and how to deal with pandemic outbreaks.

Yacoub Al-Yacoub, the department's Public Relations and Coordination Director, later corrected the figure of ambulances designated for swine flu sufferers, saying that three were provided in each health zone, and adding that all ambulances are disinfected and sterilized after being used by any patient.
Al-Yacoub revealed that the total number of swine flu cases dealt with by the MoH between May 6, 2009 and Aug 25, 2009 is 147.

The senior PR official asked the public to cooperate with the ministry in order to confront this disease by going to the nearest health center as soon as they feel any flu-like symptoms, especially as mosques and shopping areas become more crowded during Ramadan.

Kuwaittimes