Posted on 06/24/2009 8:04:24 AM PDT by metmom
Within minutes, six-year-old Rubjit Thindal went from happily chatting in the back seat of the car to collapsing and dying in her father's arms.
"If we had known it was so serious, we would have called 911,'' Kuldip Thindal, Rubjit's distraught mother, said in Punjabi yesterday. "She just had a stomach ache -- she wasn't even crying.''
Rubjit was pronounced dead at hospital barely 24 hours after showing signs of a fever. Later, doctors told her parents she had the H1N1 influenza virus. She is believed to be the youngest person in Canada with the virus to have died.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.guelphmercury.com ...
Wisconsin
UW Hospital stops student volunteers over H1N1
The Associated Press
Updated: 09/12/2009 06:39:21 PM CDT
http://www.twincities.com/wisconsin/ci_13325134?nclick_check=1
MADISON, Wis.—The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Edgewood student volunteer program at UW Hospital and Clinics has been suspended because of the high number of students with swine flu symptoms. Infection control director Dr. Nasia Safdar said the hospital system decided to proactively stop allowing student volunteers in the interest of protecting the patients from the H1N1 virus.
The policy also limits who can visit patients.
In the American Family Children’s Hospital, only patients or legal guardians are allowed to visit. Similar restrictions now apply at UW Hospital.
Safdar says that with the vaccine coming at the end of October, they may revisit the regulations, but the suspension of student volunteers could last through the flu season.
I wonder if givng victims the same kind of immuno suppresants that are given to transplant patients would short circuit a cycotine storm?
Washington State Department of Health has so far confirmed 159 hospitalizations in the general population since the start of the Pandemic and 14 deaths across the state.
Washington U Student hospitalized as 360 new cases of Swine Flu surface in three days
PULLMAN, Washington – (Update 4) A student at Washington State University has been hospitalized and 360 new cases of Swine Flu have surfaced in just three days.
68 cases surfaced on Friday, 128 on Thursday and 169 on Wednesday but the university says health authorities have seen a gradual decline in the number of students turning up with flu-like symptoms which are being treated as cases of H1N1 infections.
“One of our high-risk patients was hospitalized Wednesday for dehydration and is expected to recover,” the latest update on Saturday from WSU reported. The hospital’s clinic will remain open on Sunday.
“The overwhelming majority of our patients have had mild symptoms and are usually better in three to five days. We have had about a dozen patients with nausea and vomiting who required hydration,” the report said.
The university estimates about 2,000 students have contacted health services with flu-like symptoms and the university is treating all cases of flu-like illness as an infection from the novel H1N1 virus, said a bulletin published Friday.
However, the count has remained the same since Sept. 3 despite a growing number of students being taken ill. The real picture based on numbers being reported could indicate some 3,000 of the 18,000 students have suffered the infection.
The university said it does not have a real count and does not know if other students have sought private medical advice.
“We’ve been asked by the county health department to track numbers in this way to give us a better idea of how many students at WSU actually have influenza-like illness,” said the notification.
“We are treating all patients with influenza-like symptoms as if they have H1N1,” said the latest update posted on Friday. The university is distributing flu care kits to students.
Dr. Timothy Moody, Whitman County Health officer said it is a “certainty” that the students are suffering from Swine Flu.
The university stopped lab testing for Swine Flu after the first few cases were confirmed.
The university confirms the Swine Flu outbreak began August 24 and a more than a 100 people are coming in or calling the health care centre evey day since then.
Washington State Department of Health has so far confirmed 159 hospitalizations in the general population since the start of the Pandemic and 14 deaths across the state.
Across the U.S. 9,079 have been hospitalized while 593 people have died. New data from the CDC for the period between August 30 to September 5 states an additional 196 people have died from influenza and pneumonia associated with flu-like illness.
The CDC is now supplying combined data for Swine Flu and flu-like illness along with pneumonia.
http://www.vancouverite.com/2009/09/12/more-cases-of-swine-flu-at-wsu/
Interesting thought.
I think that the problem is time. It happens quickly.
Two New Studies Report Increased Survival Rates in Tamiflu(R)-Treated Patients with Avian Flu (H5N1) and Severe Seasonal Flu
Results of Two New Observational Studies Presented Today at the Interscience Congress on Antimicrobial Agents & Chemotherapy (ICAAC)
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ — Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that two new observational studies concluded that influenza patients treated with Tamiflu(R) (oseltamivir phosphate) had significantly higher survival rates than untreated patients. The studies, examining nearly 1,000 people, analyzed outcomes for two different groups -adults and children diagnosed with the highly pathogenic A (H5N1) avian influenza and adults hospitalized with seasonal influenza. Results, which build on similar findings(i), were presented today at the 49th ICAAC annual meeting in San Francisco.(ii,iii)
“These retrospective studies support the potential benefits of antiviral treatment in severe cases of influenza,” said Dominick Iacuzio, Ph.D., medical director at Roche, which manufactures Tamiflu. “While Tamiflu is approved and used in many countries to treat and prevent all types of A and B influenza, these ‘real-world’ studies contribute to the body of clinical evidence.”
Study Summaries
First Results from an Avian Influenza Case Registry (Presentation V-533) — Sunday, September 13, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. PT, Marriott Salon 9.
The study examined outcomes data for 215 patients from 10 countries who were diagnosed with the virulent A (H5N1) avian influenza. The retrospective observational study found that untreated patients had a mortality rate of 88%, with 11 out of 89 (12%) untreated patients surviving, in contrast to survival of 45 out of 85 (53%) patients who received at least one dose of Tamiflu up to 8 days after symptom onset. Among a subset of patients who received Tamiflu within 2 days of symptom onset, 5 out of 7 patients (71%) survived.
The study was conducted by researchers from Avex Avian Influenza Expert Group and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in collaboration with Roche. It is the first to systematically assess human A (H5N1) infection in multinational cases. Data were collected in-country and supplemented with data abstracted from published cases. Data were anonymized and reviewed for accuracy. Nearly all cases were confirmed at laboratories accredited by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“These data confirm the importance of prompt diagnosis and treatment with Tamiflu. They also support previous studies indicating that treatment may still beneficial even after 48 hours,” explained Dr. Iacuzio.
The A (H5N1) avian influenza virus continues to spread throughout parts of Southeast Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Since 2003, the WHO has reported 440 human cases of A (H5N1), 262 of them fatal. Most recently, two new human cases were reported in Egypt on August 31, 2009 (www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/en/)
Outcomes of Adults Hospitalized with Influenza, 2007 - 2008 (Poster 577) - Sunday, September 13, 2009, 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. PT, Hall B.
The study analyzed 760 patients hospitalized with severe seasonal influenza, half of whom received Tamiflu (n=395). The data showed that the rate of mortality was reduced by 37% in patients treated with Tamiflu compared to patients who were not treated [3.8% in patients treated with Tamiflu compared to 6.0% in patients who did not receive treatment, adjusted Hazard Ratio 0.38(0.19,0.78)].(iii)
The retrospective, observational study was conducted in two general hospitals in Hong Kong during a 24-month period, studying patients over the age of 18 who were hospitalized with confirmed influenza. Most patients were older (average age 70), 60% had underlying chronic illness, and 78% were hospitalized with influenza complications.
The CDC recently issued updated interim recommendations for the use of antiviral medications in the treatment and prevention of influenza for the 2009-2010 season (http://flu.gov/vaccine/antiviralguidance.pdf). The guidance covers seasonal influenza as well as the pandemic A (H1N1) virus.
Additional Data Presentations from Roche on Tamiflu in Influenza Management
High-Dose Oseltamivir Regimens Well-Tolerated by Healthy Adults (Poster 554) - Sunday, September 13, 2009, 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. PT, Hall B.
Effect of Oseltamivir on Anticoagulation: A Crossover Study in Patients Stabilized on Warfarin (Poster 50) - Sunday, September 13, 2009, 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m., Hall B.
Emergence and Evolution of Influenza A (H1N1) Viruses with H274Y and Associated Mutations (Poster 561) - Sunday, September 13, 2009, 11:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m., Hall B.
Abstracts are available at www.icaac.org.
[snip]
i) http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/3/261, http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140673608611253/abstract
ii) Toovey, S. Avex Avian Influenza Expert Group. First results from an avian influenza case registry. Oral presentation at Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) 2009. Abstract V-533, 9/13/2009
iii) Lee, N et al. Outcomes of adults hospitalised with influenza 2007-2008. Poster presented at Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) 2009. Abstract V-1074k, 9/13/2009
Thanks for remembering me. :) I’m counting my blessings with my hubby still off work, and us homeschooling... Now, if only he can manage to not run into this nasty germ on his interviews (or that we have immunity from our Springtime “fun” with it)!
As far as immunosuppression in countering a cytokine storm, I would think the people’s immune system would have to be already weakened BEFORE it started. And, I don’t think doctors are likely to give someone these kinds of medications anyway as it would only complicate matters - these people would then be at a very high risk of secondary infections, and even the flu itself and any other cold or flu virus, bacteria, etc... they may already have in their system - even if they DID survive the “storm”
Of course, I am NOT an MD, I’m just a “fan” of medicine and that’s what came to mind when I thought on your idea. (My mom was a transplant patient taking the drugs you mentioned everyday before she passed, so I have a LITTLE knowledge of the immunosuppressants in transplant patients, but that’s about it.)
I should’ve mentioned in my first paragraph that it’s the time thing that’s a big problem like Jedidah mentioned. Once the storm starts it’s a VERY quick downhill slide. The thing is I don’t think (but could be wrong) anyone knows which patients will get the storms and which won’t, which is what you would need to know in order to prevent the storms from occurring.
That said, as I mentioned, I’m just a “fan” of medicine, and not a doctor... So, I could be wrong in my way of thinking. I’m familiar with what happens in a cytokine storm, but I don’t think I’ve ever run across information on how doctors treat that specific complication currently... How DO they treat it, if it is at all possible?
Officials investigate Garland student’s sudden swine flu death
01:18 PM CDT on Monday, September 14, 2009
By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV
SWINE FLU DEATH
September 14th, 2009
Janet St. James reports.
The first child in North Texas died of swine flu over the weekend.
Mesquite ISD have alerted parents to the death.
The student, an 11-year-old girl, was a fifth grader at Price Elementary in Garland.
School officials say she went home sick from school with a fever Thursday.
She saw a doctor that day and then went home.
She was taken to the hospital Saturday in respiratory distress and died that day. I believe we are seeing a pattern - this makes several over the past few weeks that have been 2-3 days.
Health officials are still gathering information on the case but at this point we do not know of any other underlying medical condition that would contribute to this alarmingly quick death.
Health experts have predicted the H1N1 virus would spread in schools most dramatically.
Price Elementary, like other schools, has cases of the flu but not higher, we’re told, than other schools.
School officials are attempting to reassure parents they’re doing what they can to control the spread of H1N1 virus. They are urging parents to check the Mesquite ISD website for updated information.
TX:
Garland girl, 11, is Dallas County’s first child to die of swine flu
11:21 PM CDT on Monday, September 14, 2009
By KAREL HOLLOWAY and RAY LESZCYNSKI / The Dallas Morning News
kholloway@dallasnews.com; rleszcynski@dallasnews.com
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/091409dnmetmesquiteschool.17d0dac6b.html
An 11-year-old Garland girl who was otherwise healthy caught swine flu and died this weekend, making her the first person without an underlying medical condition to die of the disease in Dallas County.
Cynthia Garcia, a sixth-grader at Price Elementary in the Mesquite school district, went home sick from school Thursday and died Sunday. Health officials said they didn’t know the source of the illness or how long the girl had symptoms.
Many of those who die of flu typically have complicating medical issues, including the two other Dallas County residents who died of swine flu this year. Cynthia did have pneumonia and a bacterial infection, but those symptoms developed after she got the flu.
Cynthia’s mother, Maria Bidillo, told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) that she took her daughter to the doctor Thursday after she was sent home from school sick. Despite prescription medicine, the girl was listless Friday and Saturday.
Worried, Bidillo called paramedics Saturday afternoon, and Cynthia died hours after reaching the hospital.
“She’s a special girl,” her mother said. “In school, she would help out a lot. ... She was really responsible.”
“It’s going to be a long flu season,” Thompson said, “a flu season like none of us have seen in our lifetime, especially in the 21st century.”
Doctor dies on swine flu (South Africa)
http://www.thepost.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20090915064438265C726398
15 September 2009
A KwaZulu-Natal doctor has become the first medical practitioner to die of the H1N1 virus, the SABC reported.
Dr Irshad Moola of KwaDukuza, north of Durban, died at a private hospital after a brief illness.
His father Farouk Moola said his son had flu-like symptoms and was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties.
The health department has confirmed that his death was as a result of the virus.
The virus has claimed the lives of more than 30 people in South Africa.
District to mask kids with flu signs (Florida)
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/15/na-schools-to-mask-kids-with-flu-signs/news-breaking/
Puffy eyes and a runny nose no longer will be the only signs signaling which Hillsborough County students might have the flu.
They’ll now be sporting a mask as well.
Monday marked the first day school nurses began placing masks on middle and high school students displaying flu-like symptoms, district spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said. The policy will go into effect at elementary schools as soon as a new shipment of masks arrives.
The Hillsborough County Health Department is paying for the 20,000 masks, enough for about 10 percent of students.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal government both recommend that schools use the masks to help minimize the spread of swine flu, said Steve Huard, health department spokesman.
The mask is to help keep other children from becoming infected, Huard said.
“The mask is really trying to keep the germ in that person,” Huard said. “It can help; it can’t hurt.”
Mary Apodaca, nurse for Rampello Downtown Partnership K-8 Magnet School, said she is quarantining children with a cough, sore throat or stomach pain - regardless of whether they have a fever - until their parents pick them up.
Apodaca said flu season started earlier than usual this year.
“It’s pretty severe this year. This is the first year in five years that we’ve been so inundated with symptoms at the beginning of the school year,” she said.
The mask is one of several steps the district is taking to contain the spread of swine flu, including a mass voice mail sent to all Hillsborough school district households over the weekend. In the message, district and health officials informed families the H1N1 vaccine would be administered in schools as soon as it is available.
Steve Ayers, director of community and parent relations, said the district plans to vaccinate “medically fragile” students before moving on to the rest. A signed consent form is required for a student to receive the shot.
The county expects to begin receiving shipments of the swine flu vaccine by mid-October.
The Hillsborough County Health Department said the goal is to get as many students inoculated as quickly as possible.
“The current plan is we will go into schools and do class-by-class and somehow vaccinate a school a day,” Huard said.
Health officials also plan to vaccinate elementary school children at district buildings for seasonal influenza.
According to the Florida Department of Health, 79 people in Florida with swine flu have died, including eight last week.
No Hillsborough County schoolchildren have died as a result of complications from swine flu.
Aired on Good Morning America about Max the sweet 5 year old boy who died within 4 days of symptom onset...
Video
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=8578079
WATCH: Boy Dies From Swine Flu
UK:
Four hundred pupils at Carlisle school absent after swine flu confirmed
By Kelly Eve Education reporter
Last updated at 11:53, Tuesday, 15 September 2009
http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/400_carlisle_school_pupils_off_after_swine_flu_outbreak_1_611756?referrerPath=/news_round-up_1_50001
Around 400 pupils were absent from Carlisle’s largest secondary school yesterday after a swine flu outbreak was confirmed.
A total of 120 youngsters had been sent home from Trinity School by Friday complaining of flu-like symptoms, with a small number given swabs to determine if they had flu.
Yesterday morning health bosses confirmed that all eight pupils swabbed had tested positive for the H1N1 strain.
The sickness was mainly in the 11-16 age group but it is not known whether all the absences are related to the flu outbreak.
Dr Nigel Calvert, associate director of public health at NHS Cumbria, has been working with the school and the Health Protection Agency following the outbreak in Carlisle.
Both he and headteacher Alan Mottershead insisted that the symptoms of swine flu in the school’s case appeared to be much milder than ordinary seasonal flu.
Trinity School was praised for its “extremely sensible” approach to dealing with and treating pupils.
Health experts had predicted a rise in the number of cases once schools returned after the summer break. They have also repeated their calls for people to adopt good hand hygiene methods, washing with soap and water.
Dr Calvert said: “Certainly in this case, swine flu appears to be a lot milder than ordinary seasonal influenza.
“The school has acted extremely sensibly and praise must go to everyone involved. It is worth reiterating that there is no reason for children who are well to stay away from the school which is open as normal.”
Schools are distributing swine flu advice letters to all Cumbrian parents this week from Professor John Ashton, Cumbria’s chief medical officer, and Moira Swann, the director for children’s services at Cumbria County Council.
Professor John Ashton, director of public health, said: “The majority of people who have contracted swine flu have reported mild to moderate flu-like symptoms.
“The most common symptoms are a temperature of 38°C or more, sore throat, diarrhoea, headache, feeling generally unwell and a dry cough.
“If your child is showing symptoms of swine flu the best thing to do is keep them at home and contact the National Pandemic Flu Service,” added Dr Ashton
Anyone who thinks they may have contracted the swine flu virus can call the National Pandemic Flu Service on 0800 1 513 513 for information or 0800 1 513 100 for treatment.
((((((Note what the trend in flu cases had been once the Cumbria schools had been closed for the summer: ))))))
Quote:
Dramatic drop in swine flu cases
10:27am Tuesday 11th August 2009
By Allan Tunningley
http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/4539429.Dramatic_drop_in_swine_flu_cases/?ref=rss
THE number of swine flu cases in Cumbria has fallen by around 30 per cent in just seven days.
According to figures released by the National Pandemic Flu Service, far fewer antivirals were dispensed in the county last week compared with the week before.
Between August 2 and 9, 665 ‘flu friends’ picked up antiviral medication for people with suspected swine flu compared to 1,028 from July 27 to August 2.
http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2009/09/ cbs-harry-smith-may-have-swine.php
CBS’ Harry Smith May Have Swine Flu AP
Swine Flu and Conjunctivitis
- here’s some discussion about this at the allnurse forum: http://allnurses.com/pandemic-flu-forum/swine-flu-conjunctivitis-410981.html
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Swine flu victims also contracting red eyes – Ramsammy
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2009/news/local/07/19/swine-flu-victims-also-contracting-red-eyes-ramsammy/
Guyana remains on high alert for new swine flu cases, according to Health Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, who revealed that the illness appears to be accompanied by conjunctivitis.
With some 29 specimens already tested and only two positive cases confirmed he said that the impact of H1N1 here has been moderate so far.
Speaking with Stabroek News on Thursday last at his Brickdam office hours before his ministry was destroyed by fire he said that persons with the H1N1 flu do not have different symptoms from those suffering from the common flu. However, he noted that experiences in other countries have pointed to the swine flu being accompanied by conjunctivitis.
The normal flu is not accompanied by conjunctivitis (red eyes), Ramsammy noted, but he cautioned that the presence of conjunctivitis is not a necessary confirmation of H1N1.
“We only had two confirmed cases, but the experience in other countries point to a high percentage of persons who flu seems to be accompanied by conjunctivitis… therefore if someone has flu and they seem to have conjunctivitis it is very suspicious,” he said.
The minister pointed out that if someone is suffering from both illnesses then a specimen should certainly be taken and sent overseas for testing.
In addition to the presence of conjunctivitis, he said that people with the H1N1 flu virus also seem to experience some diarrhoea and vomiting which the ministry has since added to the index of suspicion.
Ramsammy said too that if the flu persists for some time, running past a week persons should take note and see a doctor because swine flu patients are usually sick for many days. He added that the regular flu only lasts for a few days.
“If you have fever for more than a week it is something that you should check out with the doctors, but it is not wise to wait for a whole week before you see a doctor,” he stated.
He stressed that H1N1 has similar symptoms as the normal flu such as body aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever.
The Health Minister said that currently medical professionals across the globe are accumulating evidence from people and trying to see if there are certain things that are peculiar with H1N1, but noted that so far they have not found anything peculiar.
However, he said scientists studying the flu virus have now discovered that unlike other viruses H1N1 seem to have the ability to move from the lungs to other areas of the body which he referred to as a troublesome indicator. This, he said, might explain the diarrhoea and vomiting.
Further, he said that H1N1 appears to have a greater impact on people with other illnesses.
“If you’re diabetic or asthmatic it seems to worsen the symptoms and that is why people with other illnesses contracting the flu these days should check it out and not stay home and hope to get better,” he said.
Confirmed cases
Speaking on the two confirmed cases here Ramsammy said that in one instance, a man who works overseas visited his family here and passed the virus onto his 14-year-old. He would not say what the sex of the child was.
He stated that the father came from a country neighbouring Guyana and while he also declined to name the country, he said that the man did not come through the airport.
The man spent a few days with his family and subsequently returned to work. Ramsammy said that he came ill with fever and also had a cough, but that he did not appear ill enough to see a doctor. Other persons in his family took ill after he left and while they recovered in a few days, the 14-year-old had to go to the hospital.
Ramsammy said the child is asthmatic, adding that this could have been the reason why the flu virus attacked.
With respect to the other case, he said it was a middle-aged woman. He said that the ministry is still not certain who her contact was because “she had many contacts with foreign people”. But he stated that again none of her contacts felt sick enough to go to the hospital. He stated that the woman is diabetic and insulin dependent.
Of the persons suffering with H1N1 in countries globally, Ramsammy said that the vast majority of cases seem to behave like regular flu. He noted that some persons treat it as a regular flu without going to see a doctor and it goes away. But he emphasized that some people have become seriously ill after contracting the swine flu virus.
“Most of the people with swine flu have not gone to the doctor, they treat them as any other flu and they were fine,” the minister said.
In terms of the surveillance systems here, he said that there are two currently in place; Influenza Like Illnesses (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). He said that persons in the health system are obligated to report to the ministry on a daily basis every case they have seen in either category, adding that for any case that meets a certain criteria on the index of suspicion a specimen is required to be sent for testing.
“We have had to train people to take the specimens,” he added.
Additionally, he said that if the ministry locates a confirmed case officers are required to track down the family and test everyone including their contacts.
Treatment
Ramsammy said the two persons who contacted the H1N1 flu here had been treated with Tamiflu. He said that the ministry has some 30,000 units of Tamiflu in stock and outside of that he was made aware of a recent purchase in the private sector.
“I have been told that the private sector have purchased Tamiflu and have been using it, I am not sure how much has been utilized in the country but I know that at least 10,000 doses of Tamiflu were procured by the private sector from the New GPC,” the minister said.
Pharmacies are now selling Tamiflu, but Ramsammy stressed that it is a prescription drug and not an over-the-counter drug. He said that no pharmacists should be selling the medication to persons who have not seen a doctor and received a prescription.
Ramsammy emphasized that Tamiflu cannot be dispensed as any other flu medicine since there are risks of resistance being developed in the event of widespread, unsupervised use.
He said that a doctor with a patient who has flu and who is not responding to normal medication can go ahead and use Tamiflu provided that that person meets the criteria on the index of suspicion. He noted that doctors can start treating without waiting for confirmation.
To date the health ministry has dispensed some 23,000 doses of regular Influenza A vaccines. Ramsammy said the vaccines had nothing to do with H1N1, adding that they cannot prevent persons from contracting swine flu.
Some 25,000 doses of the Influenza A vaccines were purchased and according to him, the targets of the vaccines are children and elderly people. He said the vaccines are meant to reduce the severity of H1N1 on persons falling into either category if they contract the virus.
So far, he said, the ministry has sent 39 specimens overseas for testing and received results for 29. The two confirmed cases were among the results that came back.
Further, the minister said that Guyana has an active airport programme and that travellers are being screened. He said persons and the airlines are asked to fill out health declarations forms, adding that the ministry expects people to be honest.
He said they have received occasional reports and have followed up by interviewing persons who come in. He added that people largely been cooperative.
Currently, he said, health officials at the airport are not being intrusive as before since they are hoping that people are honest enough to say whether they are ill when they arrive.
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