Kuwait Times

Published Date: May 25, 2009
By Hussain Al-Qatari, Staff Writer

KUWAIT: Eighteen US soldiers tested positive for swine flu at an American military base in Kuwait and have left the country, a Kuwaiti health official said yesterday. The Undersecretary of Kuwait's Ministry of Health (MOH) Ibrahim Al-Abdulhadi added Kuwait is safe from the H1N1 virus. "This contagious virus can spread within a radius of two meters from those contaminated. The US military base (70 km south of Kuwait City) is two hours away from us here [the Ministry of Health] and from other residential are
as. There is no need to worry," Al-Abdulhadi said at a press conference.

He assured: "The 18 individuals who have been diagnosed with a mild case of A(H1N1) were immediately put under medical supervision. Measures have been taken and they have received treatment and have left Kuwait. Those who were in immediate contact with them (at Arifjan base) are put under supervision as well." He stressed that Kuwait's Ministry of Health works closely with and follows strictly the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Kuwaiti authorities confirmed that the soldiers came from the United States, but would not say where they had gone. Deputy chief of Kuwait's public health department Yussef Mendkar said the US soldiers had "had no contact whatsoever with the local population," and that the state remained free of A(H1N1) influenza.

Al-Abdulhadi said that the US Embassy informed the Ministry of Health about the cases on Saturday, one day after the cases were discovered. He stressed that the 18 contaminated military personnel did not suffer any symptoms, and the virus was detected during routine tests, stressing the transparency and efficiency of the US military bases and the US Embassy. He also added that MoH officials will visit US military bases today.

WHO Spokesman of the Middle East region Dr Jean Jabbour said that Kuwait's registered 18 cases of US military personnel are the first A(H1N1) cases in the Middle East region. "The state of Kuwait is dutifully following the directives of the WHO," he said. He added that WHO is working on a vaccine to fight the virus, but as of yet has not reached any breakthrough. "We are expecting to have something by mid-July, but it will still be months after that before it is manufactured and distributed.

Meanwhile, Ali Al-Saif, deputy of the general health department in the Ministry of Health reassured that Kuwait has taken adequate measures to avoid the spread of the virus in the country, whether by testing travelers arriving to Kuwait or by designating clinics in Kuwait's six governorates to monitor any suspicions or reports. "Kuwait has ordered enough supplies of medication. It has efficient experts who can deal with any reported cases of infection or suspicions," he said.

More on the preventive side, the head of the ports' health department Hameed Ghuloom said that the ministry has prepared videos to be screened at the airport and brochures and flyers to be given out to travelers at the airport. "As of today, we have scanned about 20 thousand people coming inside Kuwait from contaminated countries, none of whom tested positive," he said. MOH Undersecretary Al-Abdulhadi also stated that Kuwait's embassies around the world are in contact with Kuwaiti citizens, and have not ha
d any reports of positive cases yet.

Kuwait is a major ally of Washington and a logistics base for US military personnel serving in Iraq. Raad Mahmoud, a spokesman for the Iraqi Health Ministry, said precautionary measures are being taken at airports and border entry points, but said Iraqi authorities have no authority over US troops and the foreigners who enter with them. But he said the US military has to administer medical tests to everybody when they enter the country, and the military must present the report to the ministry. US Army Maj
Jose Lopez, a military spokesman, said there were no reported cases of swine flu among American troops in Iraq.