Eight cases of swine flu reported in Tajikistan

On Dec. 3, the Tajik Ministry of Health officially confirmed that eight people in Tajikistan were infected with the H1N1 virus. Doctors, however, believe it likely that a number of other cases have not been diagnosed.

Gulnor Hashim

2009-12-07

DUSHANBE ― On Dec. 3, the Tajik Ministry of Health confirmed that eight people in Tajikistan were infected with the H1N1 virus. Doctors, however, believe it likely that a number of other cases have not been diagnosed.

A Tajik woman aboard a bus protects herself from the H1N1 virus, which was first detected in April. (Photo by Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) worked with Tajikistan to prepare for the virus by establishing a National Research System, with offices at 12 healthcare facilities around the country. WHO also provided equipment, conducted training sessions and provided financial assistance for the collection and transportation of samples for testing.

Tajik Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Minister of Health Azamjon Mirzoyev announced that two cases were reported in August and a third at the end of November. Another five people have been infected by the H1N1 virus in the past few days.

The H1N1 flu pandemic spread to Central Asia last summer. The first few cases to occur in the region were reported in Kazakhstan. A swine flu outbreak hit the neighbouring country of Kyrgyzstan in November, when 61 people contracted the virus within a few weeks.

Uzbekistan partially closed its border with Kazakhstan in November to prevent the spread of the seasonal flu. Uzbekistan’s borders with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have so far remained open.

[CA-News.org, AsiaPlus.tj, Aveta.tj, Interfax.ru]