Above what Singapore's MOH disease outbreak response plan. Haven't seen anything equivalent for Dubai or the UAE but the Gulf News has the following.
From an article which headlines itself as, "Health Ministry says swine flu poses no real threat to UAE", I quote from it.
A circular has been issued to doctors in the UAE asking them to be fully prepared to deal with any potential swine flu cases, Jamal Al Turki, technical director, preventive medicine, Ministry of Health (MoH), said on Sunday.
I bet the doctors would be asking among themselves, "What are you talking about?" How to fully prepare? Who is going to organize us?
And then I can't believe how Al Turki went on to contradict himself.
Al Turki said: "This particular type of flu can be transmitted by being close to pigs; so in this regard there is no real threat in the UAE. The disease is also not transmitted through the food chain."
"We are also keeping a close surveillance on people coming from the infected part of the world based on the slightest flu like symptoms. There is a potential for this flu to turn into an epidemic because this particular virus changes its genetic composition. It can infect pigs but human-to-human transmission does not take place," he added.
Well Al Turki is right that as a flu virus it cannot travel to you via the food chain. Countries banning pork products from affected countries are doing so for social and political reasons. It is not a public health issue.
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