3 More Cases of H1N1 Confirmed in the Belize District

Marvin Manzanero

There are three more confirmed cases of H-one-N-one. This brings the total to eight confirmed cases of the Influenza ‘A’ virus. The additional infections are from the Belize District. The first confirmed case was announced by the Ministry of Health in July, with three cases in the Corozal District. The persons who had contracted the virus all had a travel history to the Yucatan Peninsula where the H-one-N-one had spread to several cities, killing several persons. Three days later, the Ministry of Health confirmed to News Five two additional cases-one in Belize City and the other in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Health officials had anticipated a spike of cases ahead of the flu season this year, but as the Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero explained, the number of flu cases in the north has decreased.

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“As far as I know I think we have eight confirmed cases from when we started. I am not saying that there are not anymore cases. We have never said that. We have to be careful about that because it does not mean that everybody may show. Not everybody who gets H1N1 has all the symptoms. So we have eight confirmed cases. Belize and Corozal were the only districts to have confirmed cases. When I was in Corozal last week, I was able to look at their numbers in terms of where we are. Their flu cases have started to decrease. So we are anticipating then we perhaps not going to be having that spike that we have been preparing for. Also understand that we are not traditionally in the flu season so this is not necessarily a spike that we were anticipating. Usually flu season is more in the colder, cooler months and it will also fluctuate with the school patterns because children can be vectors of that in terms of the infection spreading quicker. We are monitoring. We do that on a monthly basis, in some areas on a daily basis but I think we are not seeing any spike.