The Health Department said this evening that two members of staff working in the same section of the Mater Dei Hospital have been found positive with the A H1N1 influenza virus.
The two staff members were on a duty when a foreign exchange student, who was in Malta on an exchange programme, was admitted to the hospital with flu symptoms, the student was sent home the same day. The two members of staff who are both Maltese are being treated at home.
The Health Department said that they are closely monitoring the situation.
The full extent of the spread of swine flu here in Gozo and Malta is not known as the government has stopped publishing any figures other than confirmed cases in vulnerable groups of people.
However, earlier this week on a visit to Malta, the Chief Advisor to the British Health Protection Agency, Professor Nigel Lightfoot, said that, "although the pandemic in Britain started 13 weeks ago and Malta’s pandemic started only 3 weeks ago, Malta has a much more rapid rate of growth."
Meanwhile, Millions of people in the UK could be placed in quarantine this summer as the swine flu pandemic takes hold, UK health experts have warned.
Due to the unprecedented scale of this pandemic, bans on travelling abroad over the holiday months could be brought in which would affect around six million people who have already booked holidays overseas.
Major airports in the UK have already started screening outgoing passengers, passengers who are showing symptoms of swine flu are being turned away from their flights and told to return home.
The British Health Department is also advising any Britons who are holidaying abroad and show symptoms of the flu, not to attempt to return home until they are fully recovered. This move comes after other countries have brought in similar screening for all passengers.
The British Foreign Office and Health Protection Agency are both stressing that anyone infected with the H1N1 must stay at home.
The dramatic escalation in the swine flu pandemic has also prompted the UK government to bring in new measures to cope with what has become a nationwide surge in cases.
A swine flu helpline and website is being hastily set up to facilitate the supply of Tamiflu without the need to first consult a doctor.
In addition, with the number of cases rising and estimates that the UK death toll could reach 65,000 this year, hospitals are preparing to implement special measures.
These special measures would include, the delaying of operations, the cancellation of appointments and health service staff being redeployed in order to prioritise the patients who are in most urgent need of treatment.
Symptoms of Influenza A H1N1 may include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, joint pain, headache, chills and fatigue.
Fortunately most people who are contracting the virus are only suffering a comparatively mild illness, with a small minority suffering more severe illness, which in some cases is fatal.
Anyone who is currently feeling any of the symptoms is urged not to go to hospital emergency departments or clinics, instead they should stay at home and contact a doctor, or contact the National swine flu helpline on 21324086.
The World Health Organisations comprehensive advisory on how best to protect ourselves from becoming infected and what to do if we think we have caught the virus can be viewed by clicking this link. [1]
The WHO advisory also answers a number of questions that may arise during the course of this current pandemic.