The Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) summoned its
members who are assigned to specialised groups in the public health sector to
an emergency meeting Thursday morning.
The meeting came in the wake of the sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of the deadly Influenza A H1N1 virus or Swine Flu in Jamaica.
There is indication that all is not well with public health nurses who have specialised duties include the handling of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus.
A statement from the NAJ said the meeting was to discuss the challenges being experienced by public health nurses as they respond to the impact of the influenza outbreak.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed HIN1 cases in Jamaica had increased to 10.
The Ministry of Health's surveillance system detected three new cases in St. Mary, the second occurrence in the parish, and in St. James, the first.
As with the previous cases, all three patients had travelled to New York and are reportedly recovering.
The Health Ministry says its health team has interviewed, examined and taken samples from the victims' immediate contacts.
The samples have been sent to the laboratory for testing.
The Ministry first confirmed Swine Flu had reached Jamaican shores at the end of last month with the discovery of two cases including a 4-year-old girl from Linstead in St. Catherine.
Gov't lax in handling the matter - Ferguson
And the Parliamentary Opposition says it is concerned about the Health Ministry's handling of the spread of the H1N1 virus in Jamaica.
Spokesman on Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson has criticised Minster Ruddy Spencer for not taking a lead role in alerting the country to the seriousness of the virus.
"(There) was a recent press conference but we're concern about them not being open with the country about the situation as in a real way, we're now getting a broader spread of the virus," he said.
According to Dr. Ferguson, the Health Ministry's poor handling of the situation could lead to panic in the health sector especially if enough information is not disseminated to the public.
"If you (look) at other jurisdictions, this thing is being dealt with in a way that the population is saturated with information. (This needs to be done here) as in our culture, we shake a lot, hug a lot, kiss a lot and do other things like cough in public places, (which can spread the virus)" said Dr. Ferguson.
WHO declares swine flu pandemic
In the meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic after holding an emergency meeting on Thursday.
This means that the swine flu virus is spreading in at least two regions of the world with rising cases being seen in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Chile.
The move does not necessarily mean the virus is causing more severe illness or more deaths.
A disease is classed as a pandemic when transmission between humans becomes widespread in two regions of the world.
Analysts say calling the H1N1 strain a pandemic will make little difference to the handling of the outbreak.
But the move may speed up the production of vaccines and prompt Governments to impose measures such as travel bans.
The H1N1 virus first emerged in Mexico in April and has since spread to 74 countries.
The meeting came in the wake of the sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases of the deadly Influenza A H1N1 virus or Swine Flu in Jamaica.
There is indication that all is not well with public health nurses who have specialised duties include the handling of confirmed and suspected cases of the virus.
A statement from the NAJ said the meeting was to discuss the challenges being experienced by public health nurses as they respond to the impact of the influenza outbreak.
On Wednesday, the number of confirmed HIN1 cases in Jamaica had increased to 10.
The Ministry of Health's surveillance system detected three new cases in St. Mary, the second occurrence in the parish, and in St. James, the first.
As with the previous cases, all three patients had travelled to New York and are reportedly recovering.
The Health Ministry says its health team has interviewed, examined and taken samples from the victims' immediate contacts.
The samples have been sent to the laboratory for testing.
The Ministry first confirmed Swine Flu had reached Jamaican shores at the end of last month with the discovery of two cases including a 4-year-old girl from Linstead in St. Catherine.
Gov't lax in handling the matter - Ferguson
And the Parliamentary Opposition says it is concerned about the Health Ministry's handling of the spread of the H1N1 virus in Jamaica.
Spokesman on Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson has criticised Minster Ruddy Spencer for not taking a lead role in alerting the country to the seriousness of the virus.
"(There) was a recent press conference but we're concern about them not being open with the country about the situation as in a real way, we're now getting a broader spread of the virus," he said.
According to Dr. Ferguson, the Health Ministry's poor handling of the situation could lead to panic in the health sector especially if enough information is not disseminated to the public.
"If you (look) at other jurisdictions, this thing is being dealt with in a way that the population is saturated with information. (This needs to be done here) as in our culture, we shake a lot, hug a lot, kiss a lot and do other things like cough in public places, (which can spread the virus)" said Dr. Ferguson.
WHO declares swine flu pandemic
In the meantime, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global flu pandemic after holding an emergency meeting on Thursday.
This means that the swine flu virus is spreading in at least two regions of the world with rising cases being seen in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Chile.
The move does not necessarily mean the virus is causing more severe illness or more deaths.
A disease is classed as a pandemic when transmission between humans becomes widespread in two regions of the world.
Analysts say calling the H1N1 strain a pandemic will make little difference to the handling of the outbreak.
But the move may speed up the production of vaccines and prompt Governments to impose measures such as travel bans.
The H1N1 virus first emerged in Mexico in April and has since spread to 74 countries.
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