One unconfirmed case of swine flu may have already emerged in Slovakia, the Health Ministry's spokesperson, Zuzana Čižmáriková, told the TASR newswire on April 29.A woman was hospitalised in Nitra on the morning of April 29 with clinical symptoms and her recent travel history is of concern, but the suspicion of swine flu has yet to be confirmed.
“The patient is stable and without problems. No unequivocal symptoms of this kind of flu are present,” said Ľubica Piesecká from the infectious disease department of the hospital in Nitra.
The hospitalised woman had recently returned from Mexico, Chief Public Health Officer Ivan Rovný told TASR. He also noted that the Public Health Office (ÚVZ) has issued basic recommendations for people travelling to countries where cases of swine flu have been detected. Doctors are also advising travellers who notice any symptoms of the flu to pay a visit to their doctor who should be informed of their travel histories.
“If there's a suspicion, everybody will be hospitalised as a precaution if their travel history is combined with flu,” assured Health Minister Richard Raši.
ÚVZ recommends Slovaks to reconsider travelling to areas affected by swine flu, or possibly inquiring about the risks and preventive measures. The Transport Ministry has already updated its airport emergency plan and instructed employees how to proceed in cases of emergency. There are about 700,000 protective aids and 27.5 million protective masks in the warehouses of Slovakia's State Material Reserves Administration if a swine flu pandemic breaks out. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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