Swine flu entry restricted?
Nobody has contracted the H1N1 virus in Armenia. There are only 8 cases of the flu, laboratory investigations of patients, but the virus has not been revealed.
According to chief expert of the state inspectorate for hygiene and pandemics of the Health Ministry Liana Torosyan, the entry of the H1N1 virus is excluded.
There is an operative group comprised of experts, a hotline and large-scale projects aimed at providing hospitals with equipment, as well as raising awareness of the doctors and the population. According to her, there is a separate building at the "Nork" infection hospital where there is corresponding medical aid in case of need.
Liana Torosyan says that all passing points supervise people coming from the so-called "insecure countries" like the USA, Mexico, Spain and Argentina.
"The H1N1 virus is like the usual flu and it is even cured more easily. I can say that the seasonal flu creates more problems than the H1N1," said Liana Torosyan. She also said that measures are being taken to identify the virus.
First, people who reach the passing point go through a check-up and are asked to fill out a special questionnaire, which states the residence of the person. The information is then sent to the territorial polyclinics and the individuals go through seven days of supervision.
The "Zvartnots" international airport has a sanitary-quarantine point and people's temperatures are determined at a distance through special thermometers. There are special trainings for tourism agency workers and the statistics on the virus are updated from time to time based on information from the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The chief expert of the inspectorate for hygiene and pandemics advised citizens to maintain norms of hygiene and not to panic in case of identifying symptoms of the flu.
