<<Print>>

Zambia's Luanshya district, a famous mine area in its Copperbelt province, has been forced to ban weddings, former miners re-engagement program and other social gatherings as a way of thwarting the spread of the A/H1N1 flu, the Times of Zambia reported on Saturday. Luanshya has recorded more than 630 suspected A/H1N1 flu cases, the country's most over the past four days, the report said. Luanshya District Commissioner (DC) George Kapu told the newspaper that 33 out of the 64 patients were discharged on Thursday from the flu treatment center based at the Luanshya Mine Clinic in New Town. He said following the advice from health authorities, weddings and all public gatherings in the flu-like disease affected townships have been banned with immediate effect. The Luanshya Copper Mine (LCM) and Luanshya District administration authorities have temporarily suspended the ex-miners re-engagement program as a measure aimed at averting the further spreading of the suspected A/H1N1 flu. The new owner of the LCM, China Non Ferrous Metal Company (CNMC), confirmed to Xinhua the development in the company. The public relations officer of LCM, Sydney Chileya, said the decision to temporarily suspend the miners' re-engagement program, which will bring together ex-miners on large scale, was based on health authorities' advice after the outbreak of flu like disease in the mining town. The district commissioner of Ndola, the provincial capital of Copperbelt, Moses Mumba, said 38 patients out of the 107 pupils remained quarantined at the Ndola Girls National Technical High School. He expressed hope the disease would be suppressed by the proactive eradication campaign of the health personnel camped at the school on the outskirts of Ndola. The ban on the visit by parents to pupils at the school was still in effect, Times said. Earlier, the Zambian government told their citizens to be on alert as the number of suspected cases in the country was on the rise. Senior official from the Health Ministry has said their national action plan on A/H1N1 flu requires about 2.13 million U.S. dollars for more drugs and logistics against the pandemic. Zambia's acting minister of health Brian Chituwo told the Parliament earlier this week in a statement on the update on the A/H1N1 flu that half of the amount required had been mobilized from the government and its partners. He said pediatric formulations of the drugs already acquired through the WHO and the World Bank will soon be available, adding that a request has been made to secure more to beef up present stocks. He said a number of preventive measures have been put in place, while stressing there is no need for panic among Zambians as the A/H1N1 flu is not as lethal as it was earlier reported.. The minister also disclosed that the government has no intentions to close schools that have recorded such cases because the disease is not as dangerous as earlier reported. Zambia reported its first confirmed case on July 28. Various measures have been taken to curb the spreading of the disease. No death from the disease has been reported in the country.