The H1N1 virus was brought up on April 8 in the House of Assembly when Minister for Health and Social Development Ronnie Skelton disclosed that a tourist who arrived on a cruise ship was diagnosed with the virus last week.
Skelton made the disclosure during the presentation of the bill entitled “Infectious Diseases Notifications (Act) 2012.”
In explaining the importance of the bill and the need for medical reporting, the Minister said: “Last week we had someone I understand that was diagnosed here with the H1N1 virus off a cruise ship, so we know that it doesn’t take long for diseases to cross our borders.”
Skelton told his fellow legislators, “as a progressive society, this (recent incident) requires us to put effective measures in place to protect our citizens and residents.”The Minister disclosed that the news also reported that on the international front a new strain of the flu has been discovered and that a reported 14 cases have been disclosed in China. He also stated that five have since died from this new strain of bird flu which is being referred to as the H7N9 virus.
As of April 9, according to forbes.com, the recent cases brought China’s total of infected persons to 28.
Various media have also reported that some Chinese cities have since closed certain poultry markets as well as employ other precautionary methods as a means of limiting the spread of the new virus.
Forbes.com also mentioned that “… the Chinese government has been lauded for increased transparency in its handling of the H7N9 spread.”
