|
By Dan and Unuruu (Last updated 9 December)
Based on the Wave Index the current wave of the H1N1 pandemic in Mongolia is over. The restrictions set by the government have been lifted.
Latest updates
The number of reported swine flu (H1N1 influenza) cases in Mongolia has reached 1183 (as of December 9, 2009). There are 798 confirmed cases in the capitol city Ulaanbaatar and 385 confirmed cases throughout the country provinces. 26 deaths have been attributed to the H1N1 pandemic. Ovorkhangai province has reported 56 cases, with 5 deaths, the highest in the country provinces. (Source: Mongolian Ministry of Health).
The precautions the government has taken have slowed down the fast spread of the flu. It seems the situation in Ulaanbaatar and in the provinces is becoming stable. Only few new cases have been reported in the past week.
See the spreadsheets for detailed analysis and graphs of the H1N1 flu pandemic in Mongolia.
severity index - 2% death Ratio
 The H1N1 outbreak in Mongolia is at category 5 in the pandemic severity index. The severity index focuses on how life threatening the pandemic is; it measures the Case Fatality Ratio (CFR) - the percentage of deaths of the total cases reported.
In Mongolia 2 percent of the reported H1N1, cases have died (26 deaths out of 1183 cases).
In a normal flu season 0.1 percent of those contracting the disease, die. Most of these deaths occur among those at high risk, like old people. The H1N1 virus causes deaths also among young and healthy people including two cases of pregnant women.
The Mongolian government has ordered the addition of respiratory equipment to hospitals and canceled all import tax on medical equipment in an effort to expedite the treatment of patients.
State of emergency
President Tsakhia Elbegdorj said: "We must recognize that the situation has reached the level of disaster. I am concerned about the rate of spread of the disease, which began to encroach on people's lives."
Following his statement, a state of emergency was declared. All public transportation out of Ulaanbaatar to the provinces was halted, affecting the routine daily travel of thousands.
This precaution has slowed down the fast spread of the virus to the provinces.
Autumn school holiday has been extended; students will study at home via TV channels. Some markets have been closed. Public gathering has een banned.
The Pandemic
The first case of H1N1 was reported on October 12th; within a month, over 900 cases were reported. Ulaanbaatar was the first places to be hit; the virus quickly spreading to the neighboring provinces.
The pandemic is not confined to Mongolia, it is a global pandemic with reported laboratory confirmed cases in 199 countries worldwide, including in the neighboring countries Russia and China.
The virus is a strain of the H1N1 virus that hit a third of the world population in 1918 with estimated 50-100 million dead.
Vaccines
Vaccines will be imported from Russia, China and from WHO (World Health Organization). A budget of MNT 753 million was allocated for purchasing medication.
The first batch of 45,000 vaccine doses is expected to arrive this week, from a total of 450,000.
The main manufacturer of H1N1 vaccine is the United Kingdom company GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) It is the world's second largest pharmaceutical company. The company has announced it had production difficulties that limited the available supply of the vaccine. Shortages were reported globally.
The first round of vaccinations will be given to medical teams, emergency workers, border employees. The second round will include citizens at medical high risk, pregnant women, children and adults with chronic illnesses.
A total of MNT 6.4 billion was allocated from the CCF (Crisis Capital Fund) to purchase medicine, medical apparatuses, equipment for intensive care, disinfectants, ensure readiness of border checkpoints, grant the overtime payment and allowances to medical doctors and workers.
Personal Precautions
The Mongolian National Influenza center has published a set of personal precautions to prevent the spread of the H1N1 infection:
 Early signs of influenza A(H1N1) are flu-like, including fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhea.The main route of transmission of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus seems to be similar to seasonal influenza, via droplets that are expelled by speaking, sneezing or coughing. You can prevent getting infected by avoiding close contact with people who show influenza-like symptoms (trying to maintain a distance of about 1 meter if possible) and taking the following measures:
• Avoid touching your mouth and nose;
• Clean hands thoroughly with soap and water, or cleanse them with an alcohol-based hand rub on a regular basis (especially if touching the mouth and nose, or surfaces that are potentially contaminated);
• Avoid close contact with people who might be ill;
• Reduce the time spent in crowded settings if possible;
• Improve airflow in your living space by opening windows;
• Practice good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active.
(not including Ulaanbaatar with 741 cases)
Source: ToMongolia
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
The information published in this article can be freely copied from ToMongolia
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
“yes, we tend to overreact sometimes, and then we don't care at all...”
While the mongolian government failed and continues to fail to implement much needed improvements in UB to upgrade basic services such as –
(a)drinking water supplies
(b)sanitation services
(c)air pollution controls
and fails to invest properly in health education with regard to –
(a)reducing heavy consumption of alcohol
(b)improving diet to reduce “western-style” obesity and heart disease
(c)anti-smoking programmes
- the so-called flu epidemic was actually a gift to the politicians who could claim to be concerned about population health and be able to demonstrate their “concerns” by spending extremely little money on promoting the use of nice high-visibility facemasks.
City-wide health care improvements will require a significant amount of real commitment from politicians prepared to set clear targets and to invest serious amounts of money – not simply playing child-like charades with face-masks.