2 more die of swine flu in Saudi Arabia

Saturday, August 01, 2009 RIYADH: The Ministry of Health, for the second consecutive day, announced on Friday two more swine flu deaths among Saudis in the Kingdom, bringing the total number of fatalities to four.The first victim was identified only as Abdullah, a 32-year-old Saudi nurse, who died at the Al-Nafi government hospital, located 100 km from Al-Ras in Qassim province. Abdullah was working in a hospital in Taif and was transferred to the region on his request three weeks ago. He developed high fever and was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday following complaints of breathing difficulties.The second victim was a 25-year-old Saudi youth, who died at the Al-Namas government hospital, 30 km from Abha, the capital of Asir province. He was admitted Tuesday to the hospital for a severe sore throat and a chest infection. He was reportedly a chain smoker with bronchitis, which doctors say could have played a role in his death.The other two patients who succumbed to swine flu included a 30-year-old Saudi man who died at Al-Mouwasat Private Hospital in Dammam and an Indonesian woman resident, 28, who passed away at the Dammam Central Hospital. The reported deaths now span the length of the country: the Eastern Province, centrally situated Qassim and southwestern Asir.Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani told Arab News that such deaths are expected due to the rapid spread of the virus. “Knowing well the effects of the flu, the ministry has taken adequate measures Kingdomwide to counter its spread,” Al-Mirghalani said. He called on the members of the public to cooperate with his ministry to fight the disease.On behalf of his officials, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families and reaffirmed his determination to take effective steps and check the spread of the virus.

Comments

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.

Suicide bombings kill 18 in Iraq

Thursday, August 13, 2009 MOSUL: At least 18 people, most of them members of the ancient Yazidi religious sect, were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up on Thursday in a packed cafe in northern Iraq, a local government official said.At least 31 people were also wounded after the bombers detonated suicide belts packed with explosives in the cafe in Kalaa town, in the district of Sanjar, local district chief Dakheel Qassem Hasoon, told a foreign news agency."Two suicide bombers entered the Cafe Barbaroz at 4:30 pm (1330 GMT) and blew themselves up, killing 18 civilians and wounding 31. Most of the victims were Yazidis," Hasoon said.Kalaa, northwest of the insurgent stronghold of Mosul in northern Nineveh province is predominantly populated by the minority Yazidi religious sect, as well as Arabs and Kurds.The attack is the deadliest since Monday, when 51 people were killed across Iraq, including 28 members of the tiny Shabak sect cut down when two truck bombs det...

ONE NEWS

Search This Blog