THE FIRST probable case of swine flu has arrived in the Republic, it was confirmed last evening.
The case involves an adult male in the east of the country who recently returned from Mexico, where up to 176 deaths from the condition have been reported.
The man has been given Tamiflu, an antiviral drug, and is in quarantine in his home.
Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, stressed the case had not come as a surprise.
“This is something we were expecting, this is something that we were predicting . . . the individual has been treated in accordance with our protocols,” he said.
Dr Darina O’Flanagan, director of the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said public health doctors were in the process of interviewing the man to clarify his contacts in Ireland but it was understood these were “very few”. She said those contacts would be asked to go into “voluntary home quarantine and to isolate themselves for seven days” and they would also be given antivirals for 10 days.
It was not deemed necessary to contact those who had been on the flight to Ireland with him, Dr O’Flanagan said, as the man had initially landed in another country and was not considered infectious when he was on that airplane. Later he took a flight of less than four hours’ duration to Ireland and antivirals would only be given to people in the same row, two rows in front and two rows behind a symptomatic individual if they were on a flight of more than four hours’ duration.
Dr Kevin Kelleher of the Health Service Executive confirmed the man was “relatively well” and doctors would be in contact with him daily. The man went to see his doctor “the day he arrived back” in Ireland and had not been back at work.
He said it was very important that persons who were confirmed as having swine flu were not “hounded” by the media as it might stop others coming forward and then “we would be in a much more problematic position”. He added: “It is very important that nobody feels that they need to hide this from the health system.”
It is likely to be later today or tomorrow before the case is confirmed as H1N1 influenza. The initial tests were carried out at the national virus reference laboratory in Dublin and they will now be redone and cross-checked in the UK. Prof Bill Hall, chairman of the Irish influenza pandemic expert group, said it was likely the case would be confirmed.
Dr Holohan said people could minimise the risk of the virus spreading by using a tissue for coughing or sneezing, before disposing of it and washing their hands.
Earlier yesterday, an Aer Lingus flight from London was grounded at Shannon airport amid a swine flu scare after a passenger complained of feeling unwell. The woman was diagnosed with a tummy bug.
The Netherlands, Switzerland and Peru confirmed their first cases of swine flu yesterday. Cases have now also been reported in 16 US states. And the World Health Organisation, bowing to pressure from the meat industry and concerned governments, said it will refer to the new virus as influenza A (H1N1) and not swine flu.