About 18 people on U.S. military bases in Kuwait have tested positive for swine flu, a U.S. Central Command spokeswoman said today.
They are the first cases reported in Kuwait. It remains unclear whether the virus has spread to the civilian population.
The names and units of the infected people were not immediately available.
Maj. Kristi Beckman, speaking from Central Command headquarters in Tampa, said everyone who tested positive for the virus was quarantined in military health facilities approved by officials from the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health.
The World Health Organization said today that H1N1 influenza has infected 11,168 people in 42 countries, and caused 86 deaths.
Kuwait was not on its list of countries where the virus is present.
Kuwait is used as a staging area for soldiers heading to or from the war in Iraq.
On April 28, the Kuwait Times newspaper reported that the country was free of the virus.
The country is aggressively screening anyone arriving in Kuwait to prevent the virus from entering the country, Beckman said. Anyone who exhibits symptoms of the disease is immediately isolated and tested using WHO and Centers for Disease Control guidelines, Beckman said.
“The embassy in Kuwait has been working with the Kuwait Ministry of Health and other U.S. military elements in Kuwait just to assure we’re safeguarding the health of all residents in Kuwait,” Beckman said.
The U.S. has about 135,000 troops fighting in Iraq, Kuwait’s northern neighbor. About 4,000 soldiers from the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team of the North Carolina National Guard deployed to Iraq last month. And about 3,500 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team started a yearlong deployment to Iraq in December.
As of 5 p.m. today, North Carolina has 13 confirmed cases of the virus. The most recent case was confirmed in Orange County today.
Other counties where the virus has been confirmed are Craven, Onslow, Carteret and Rutherford. There are no probable cases under investigation, according to state health officials.
1 comment:
Very worrisome.
Very doubtful that Kuwait is free of the virus.
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