Litzman in the US to Learn About Swine Flu Treatment

Israeli Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman of Yahadus Hatorah is currently in the United States to discuss effective ways of dealing with the H1N1 swine flu virus which is spreading throughout Israel. Litzman is set to meet with with top health officials and ask the U.S. to send to Israel several hundred thousand doses of vaccine against the virus, in order to treat high risk individuals who have contracted the disease. The vaccine is still under development, but the U.S. is set to receive its vaccine allocation before Israel.

The swine flu is spreading in Israel at a rapid rate. According to a recent Health Ministry report, the number of people who have caught the disease rose 3.6 percent in the past couple of weeks. The ministry has recorded over 2,150 cases of verified swine flu in Israel, half of them patients under the age of 30. The disease is spreading fastest in Haifa, the north and Yerushalayim, though the largest number of people suffering from the flu has been recorded in the central region.

Only 5 percent of those diagnosed were over the age of 50. This figure bucks the trend of normal seasonal flus, in which the disease is more widespread among older citizens.

The study also showed that swine flu is slightly more widespread among men than women, like most infectious diseases.

The first case of swine flu in Israel – contracted abroad – was diagnosed on April 26. The first locally contracted case was confirmed on May 10.

Most swine flu patients share symptoms such as runny noses, headaches, coughing, muscle pain and shortness of breath. Other symptoms include sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Five patients diagnosed as having the disease have so far succumbed to it. The Health Ministry this month signed a 7 million sheklel deal with French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur for flu vaccines, to be delivered when the vaccine is finalized.

{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}