Swine flu threat: Nepali govt steps up surveillance
Authorities are stepping up surveillance to prevent swine flu from making inroads into the country, even as an official said on Sunday there was no swine flu case in Nepal.
Director of the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) Dr Senendra Raj Upreti told the Post they have put surveillance systems at 40 places in the country on high alert. The authorities have stepped up vigil at border check-posts and airports to prevent the entry of AH1N1 virus, which causes the deadly flu, from India, China and other countries.
First seen in Mexico in April, swine flu has spread to 74 countries.
“AH1N1 has not been detected in the country but we have to stay on high alert since the World Health Organisation has declared the deadly flu outbreak a global pandemic,” said Dr Upreti.
According to Dr Upreti, swine flu is a respiratory disease that ails pigs. It is caused by type A influenza virus that can spread to humans. But the recent outbreak has shown genetic assortment mutation, especially of bird flu, animal flu and human flu; therefore it is more dangerous, as it spreads from air and from human to human.
On Sunday, stakeholders held a meeting to step up safeguards against the flu and raise awareness on the flu threat.
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