(Trinidad Express) - Two people have died from the influenza A/H1N1 virus, while another death is still being investigated, Minister of Health Jerry Narace said on Wednesday.

Despite the deaths, however, Narace insists that there is still no reason for members of the public to panic over the swine flu virus because their surveillance system is working and there are no gaps in it.

At a news conference at the ministry’s Port of Spain head office on Wednesday, however, Narace refused to say if the virus was back with a vengeance, and instead insisted that all protocols were followed in the clinical management of the patients. In fact, he said they were in the process of auditing all the swine-flu-related deaths, which, he confirmed, all occurred at the San Fernando General Hospital less than 24 hours after the patients were admitted.

“These individuals came into the hospital quite ill, in respiratory distress, one of them quite late in the course of his illness, while the other came from a private institution. It also appears that there were other underlying risk factors,” Narace said.

“The investigations are ongoing and a team of ministry officials are working alongside the health care professionals at the SWRHA (South West Regional Health Authority) to ensure that we fully and accurately, assess the situation and respond appropriately.“

The family of the victims will also be screened, he said. The minister refused to say what the underlying conditions of the two confirmed deaths were, but Pan America Health Organisation/ World Health Organisation representative, Dr Carol Boyd-Scobie, said there was a long list of risk factors. She said people with HIV/AIDS and those who were obese were found to be more vulnerable to the virus, adding people also needed to be more careful and practice proper hygiene.
Chief Medical Officer, Dr Anton Cumberbatch, added, “From the start of the swine flu pandemic…we knew we were not going to be immune from it in this country, so we have always been saying and insisting that serious attention be paid to influenza A/H1N1 prevention and treatment because this virus can be deadly.”

Executive Medical Director of Health at the SWRHA, Dr Albert Persaud, said all precautions were being taken to look after the welfare of their health professionals.

“They were sensitised this morning and masks and personal wear are also being distributed … and it was directed that all health professionals are to wear gear that prevents exposure to our patients,” he said.

Narace added that the ministry was going to get 260,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine by mid-November, so there was no need to be concerned about whether the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting or Carnival 2010 would have to be cancelled.