All N. Korean H1N1 flu patients cured: WHO

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that
all nine North Koreans who were confirmed as having contracted the H1N1 flu virus
have recovered, and that no additional cases of the disease have been reported in
the country.
"They have all recovered and are doing well," said Suzanne Westman, coordinator
of outbreak alert and response at the WHO's New Delhi office, which is monitoring
the flu outbreak in North Korea.
The country acknowledged nine cases of the highly infectious disease on Dec. 9,
but no additional reports have come out of the country.
Westman said the first of the patients, aged between 11 and 14, was discovered on
Nov. 25 and the last case appeared on Dec. 4. Three of the confirmed infections
were in Pyongyang, with the remaining six in Sinuiju on the border with China.
"All contacts have been identified, put in isolation and treated," she said over
the telephone.
With a solid surveillance system and a sufficient number of physicians, North
Korea is believed to be able to control the outbreak, Westman added.
"They certainly have the capacity to control the influenza," she said, because
"they have a good surveillance system in place, have a good primary health
network ... and they have a very high number of physicians."
South Korea plans to send Tamiflu and other anti-viral drugs for 500,000 people
to help safeguard the North's population of 24 million.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)