"No need to panic": Armenian healthcare specialists conduct meeting

Armenian Healthcare Minister Harutyun Kushkyan gave commissions to the specialists on mission to take measures over preventing the spread of A/H1/N1 (swine flu) in our country at a meeting Monday evening.

Remind that an interdepartmental staff, coordinated by the Deputy Healthcare Minister Hayk Darbinyan, had been formed to fight the pandemic in the republic. The healthcare officials have many times announced that all the passengers arriving both at Zvartnots and Shirak Airports undergo examination through temperature measuring equipments. The same is under way in the border check points.

According to the specialists, the pandemic has the same symptoms as those observed by patients with seasonal flu, i.e. high temperature, weakness, loss of appetite, cough. Some patients have nose flow, sore throat, nausea, vomit and diarrhea.

The final diagnoses over the recent three swine flu cases recorded in Armenia are to be received from London: the tests of these people have been sent to the WHO laboratory for confirmation or non-confirmation.

Anyway, the Healthcare Ministry Hygiene Anti-pandemic Department specialist Liana Torosyan told Panorama.am there is no need to panic.

The only vaccine to fight the influenza is Tamiflu, though, the republic can provide it for 10 thousand people at the moment.