Eight H1N1 cases have been discovered in Al-Amal hospital in Riyadh, Al-Hayat newspaper reported yesterday. The report said two of the cases were among hospital inmates and six in the psychiatry department.
The newspaper also mentioned that the hospital quarantined 27 suspected cases, in addition to four nurses who showed symptoms of the virus.
The medical team in the hospital administered tamiflu (H1N1 antivirus) to all the infected. The hospital also directed all its staff members to wear masks and use all precautionary measures when dealing with the inmates. The hospital canceled the annual Eid party and vacationing doctors were called back.
The virus was first discovered in Saudi Arabia when a Filipino nurse at King Faisal Specialized Hospital returned from her annual vacation with the virus in 2009.
Internationally, the first cases of the H1N1 virus were detected in Mexico in April 2009, and soon thereafter the World Health Organization announced the virus was close to being an epidemic, as developed nations rushed to create a vaccine.
H1N1 strikes in Riyadh
