Yahya Bin Mubarak Al-Dhuwei'an whose daughter Fatima died of swine flu Wednesday has accused Al-Jafar General Hospital in Al-Ahsa of “negligence” which he believes to have led to her death. “When I first took my daughter to the hospital they treated her as if it were any other normal case despite her high fever and severe diarrhea,” Al-Dhuwei'an said. “The doctors gave her nutrients and medicine to bring down the fever before telling me to go home.” “The next day her condition hadn't changed, and no one had given her a test or kept an eye on her,” Al-Dhuwei'an continued. When an X-ray then revealed that Fatima was suffering from severe inflammation of the lungs, she was given increased doses of medicine, and as her health deteriorated she was finally removed to a non-air-conditioned isolated unit at King Fahd Hospital in Al-Hofouf. “Fatima remained in that state until she finally died in front of the doctors who were doing their best to treat her,” her father said. “Now, once the mourning period is over, I intend to sue the Ministry of Health and I have lots of evidence against Al-Jafar Hospital showing they failed to properly attend to my daughter.” Fatima, 12, suffered from an underdeveloped central nervous system according to the Ministry of Health statement Wednesday announcing her death, became the seventh fatal victim of swine flu in the Kingdom. Family and friends of the earlier victims have also accused hospitals similarly. Doctors worldeide are in a predicament as the fight against the AHNI virus continues. – Okaz/ SG Rapid flu tests ‘often wrong' Current quick tests for flu miss many cases of the new pandemic H1N1 strain, researchers at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. The findings put the accuracy of the tests from just 40 percent to 69 percent, confirming the CDC's warnings that instant tests performed on the spot in doctor's offices and clinics are not highly worthwhile for diagnozing H1N1 infections. The QuickVue test detected 69 percent of the H1N1 cases, the Directigen test 49 percent and BinaxNow just 40 percent, the study found. Race for better diagnostics The following companies are leading in the race to make better A-H1N1 diagnostics: • GlaxoSmithKline and Enigma Diagnostics have an agreement to develop point-of-care PCR tests to identify specific flu strains. • Seegene, based in South Korea and Maryland, says it is developing a multiplex PCR test for hospitals that can quickly detect different influenza types and look for resistance to antiviral drugs, too. • Utah-based DxNA has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to approve its quick GeneSTAT PCR test. • California-based Osmetech had asked for FDA emergency approval of a test it says can differentiate among 18 common bacterial and viral infections, including H1N1 flu.Vaccines human trials start: Sanofi-Pasteur, which makes about 40 percent of the world's flu vaccines, said Friday it has started human testing of its H1N1 swine flu. Several other manufacturers have also started clinical trials recently, including Swiss-based Novartis and Australia's CSL. The World Health Organization says the first vaccines should be approved and ready for use in some countries from next month, and Northern Hemisphere countries should get a vaccine first along with Southern Hemisphere doctors and nurses.
