ID :
93657
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 01:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/93657
The shortlink copeid
Iran receives first cargo of H1N1 flu vaccine
TEHRAN, Dec. 7 (MNA) -- The first cargo of swine flu vaccine arrived in Iran Monday from France, the Health Ministry reported.
The flu shots will be available across the country within a couple of days, general director of the public relations department of the ministry, Abbas Zarenejad said here on Monday.
“The ministry plans to buy two million other doses of swine flu vaccine from France, which brings the total number of vaccine in the country to four million doses,” Zarenejad added.
He said that high-risk groups, including people with chronic condition and healthcare staffs, will be vaccinated in the first phase of vaccination.
The vaccines will be checked and tested for quality before being distributed among the high-risk groups.
People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and those who live with someone whose immune system is compromised (for example, people with cancer or HIV/AIDS), are among the at-risk groups.
According to the latest figures of the Health Ministry, swine flu has claimed lives of 147 individuals across the country over the past seven months, and no Iranians have lost their lives due to the disease over the past two weeks.
Some 3,762 individuals have been diagnosed with A-H1N1 virus, and a total of 147 flu deaths have been reported across the country since the disease emerged in Iran,” deputy health minister said on Saturday.
“The second wave of swine flu has ended in Iran. And we successfully controlled the spread of the disease over its first and second waves. ... A number of schools were closed across the country following the outbreak of the disease,” Hassan Emami-Razavi noted.
The deputy health minister also stated that Iran is ready to respond to the third wave of H1N1 virus and urged Iranians to take basic precautionary measures.
Emami-Razavi had earlier said that the government had allocated $20 million for two million doses of the A-H1N1 flu vaccine, which can be used to immunize one million individuals.
Iran’s first swine flu case was a 16-year-old Iranian-American boy, who tested positive for the disease on June 22, upon his arrival in Tehran.
Compared with the countries in the East-Mediterranean region, Iran’s death toll rate of the disease with regards to its total population of over 70 million is not high.
The A-H1N1 virus has now become the dominant influenza virus around the globe, with high levels and an increase of activity in many regions, since the disease burst onto the scene in Mexico in April.
The flu shots will be available across the country within a couple of days, general director of the public relations department of the ministry, Abbas Zarenejad said here on Monday.
“The ministry plans to buy two million other doses of swine flu vaccine from France, which brings the total number of vaccine in the country to four million doses,” Zarenejad added.
He said that high-risk groups, including people with chronic condition and healthcare staffs, will be vaccinated in the first phase of vaccination.
The vaccines will be checked and tested for quality before being distributed among the high-risk groups.
People aged 65 and over, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and those who live with someone whose immune system is compromised (for example, people with cancer or HIV/AIDS), are among the at-risk groups.
According to the latest figures of the Health Ministry, swine flu has claimed lives of 147 individuals across the country over the past seven months, and no Iranians have lost their lives due to the disease over the past two weeks.
Some 3,762 individuals have been diagnosed with A-H1N1 virus, and a total of 147 flu deaths have been reported across the country since the disease emerged in Iran,” deputy health minister said on Saturday.
“The second wave of swine flu has ended in Iran. And we successfully controlled the spread of the disease over its first and second waves. ... A number of schools were closed across the country following the outbreak of the disease,” Hassan Emami-Razavi noted.
The deputy health minister also stated that Iran is ready to respond to the third wave of H1N1 virus and urged Iranians to take basic precautionary measures.
Emami-Razavi had earlier said that the government had allocated $20 million for two million doses of the A-H1N1 flu vaccine, which can be used to immunize one million individuals.
Iran’s first swine flu case was a 16-year-old Iranian-American boy, who tested positive for the disease on June 22, upon his arrival in Tehran.
Compared with the countries in the East-Mediterranean region, Iran’s death toll rate of the disease with regards to its total population of over 70 million is not high.
The A-H1N1 virus has now become the dominant influenza virus around the globe, with high levels and an increase of activity in many regions, since the disease burst onto the scene in Mexico in April.
