Bekijk volle/desktop versie : Al 16 doden door Varkensgriep in Saudie Arabie



30-08-2009, 22:52
Saudi Arabia's swine flu fatalities hit 16
Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:45:08 GMT


Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry has announced two new swine flu deaths, bringing the kingdom's death toll from the A(H1N1) influenza to 16.

According to a statement issued by the ministry on Thursday, the victims were a 40-year-old man and a woman, 26.

The number of swine flu cases in Saudi Arabia has reportedly topped the 700 mark.

The swine flu fatality rate in Saudi Arabia is on the increase while hundreds of thousands of Muslims from around the world are expected to undertake the Umrah Hajj pilgrimage during the fasting month of Ramadan which starts later in August.

The swine flu outbreak in Saudi Arabia has forced Muslim countries to set restrictions on sending pilgrims to attend the Hajj in the Kingdom.

Iranian authorities previously banned this year's Umrah Hajj pilgrimage in the holy month of Ramadan (Aug. 22-Sept. 19) in an attempt to prevent the rapid spread of the deadly virus in the country.

According to the head of the medical center for Iranian Hajj pilgrims in Medina, Abolfazl Mozaffari, no Iranian pilgrim has so far been infected with the A/H1N1 virus.

Latest figures show that the new flu virus is responsible for 162,230 confirmed cases including 1,154 deaths in nearly every country across the globe.

Swine flu was first detected in Mexico in April 2009 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June.

01-09-2009, 21:03


Saudi’s interior minister has called on countries to vaccinate pilgrims against swine flu before they arrive in the kingdom to mitigate the possibility of an outbreak during the upcoming Haj season, local daily Arab News reported on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Haj Committee, Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz also urged governments to help raise awareness about the virus among pilgrims so they can take appropriate precautions while in the kingdom, the newspaper said.