MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

OPS changes emphasis of A/H1N1 virus flu to “qualitative” info

Less numbers and more info on the spread of the disease and response of the health systems recommend Dr. Roses

The Pan American Health organization, OPS, announced Wednesday it had changed its monitoring system for the A/H1N1 virus because figures released by the different countries do no really reflect the transmission of the pandemic.

“The number of confirmed cases which countries report is less reflecting the real situation of the virus transmission and has become an indicator of the strength of the countries’ vigilance systems, of the laboratory capacities and of the transparency of the information managed”, said OPS Director Mirta Roses in a message sent to a meeting of Southern Cone Health ministers in Buenos Aires.

That is why OPS have decided “to change its pandemic monitoring system, emphasizing qualitative indicators which record the geographic dispersion and impact on the national health services”.

“Evidence now must be useful to confirm infections in new geographic areas, to check the existence of the virus in very serious cases and in the deceased, and to monitor la co-circulation of the pandemic virus and other respiratory viruses”, said Dr. Roses.

She added it was important for countries “to continue strengthening their vigilance systems, analyzing the behaviour of the virus particularly in serious cases and deaths, and share that information on time and opportunity”.

The message sent from the OPS office in Washington recalls that since last June the virus disease has spread to 33 of the 35 countries of the region. It also underlines that official releases are crucial to address the pandemic and recommends that “messages to public opinion must be truthful, precise, coherent, concise and on time”.

OPS added that all countries will need to have access to the vaccines to combat the pandemic as well as to the anti-virus, but priority must be given to health and hospital staff to avoid any shortage of needed human resources to treat the population.

Health officials from 16 countries met in Buenos Aires to analyze the situation originated in the expansion of the A/virus flu, which in Argentina has infected some 100.000 people and caused at least 137 deaths, according to the latest official information.