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7th case of swine flu diagnosed in Israel

As World Health Organization urges gov'ts to stay alert for possible pandemic of H1N1 virus, warns 'third of world's population could be infected', tests show woman who returned to Israel from US had contracted flu and recovered

The seventh case of swine flu was diagnosed in Israel on Friday morning. The test results of an Elkana resident returning to Israel from the United States earlier this week confirmed that she was carrying the H1N1 virus.

 

The woman was not hospitalized, but recovered from the flu. She contracted the flu during her stay in the US, and was tested after displaying signs of the virus.

 

The woman returned to Israel on Sunday, on El Al's 5 pm flight number 008 from New York.

 

After the test results confirmed that she was infected, the Health Ministry issued an announcement directing anyone who was on her flight and developed signs of the flu to go to the emergency room.

 

The new H1N1 virus has infected 2,371 people in 24 countries, according to the WHO's latest tally issued overnight.

 

There are 1,112 laboratory-confirmed cases in Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, including 42 deaths, it said. The United States has 896 cases, including two deaths, while Canada has 201 cases and no fatalities.

 

Evidence that the disease has taken hold in communities outside the Americas would prompt WHO Director-General Margaret Chan to declare a full pandemic.

 

Chan raised the global pandemic alert level last week to 5 out of 6 in response to the spread of H1N1 flu. Phase 5 means a pandemic is imminent.

 

The WHO's Dr. Keiji Fukuda urged Asian governments to stay alert for a possible wider pandemic that "could infect a third or more of the world's population in the next several months, in the next year."

 

"Even if the illnesses appear relatively mild on an individual level, with large numbers of infections on the global population, you can get large numbers of seriously ill people," Fukuda told health ministers from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus China, Japan and South at a meeting in Bangkok on Thursday.

 

Reuters contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.08.09, 12:44
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