The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has said that a private hospital's refusal to return the body of a girl who died of swine flu to her family until they pay SR600,000 in treatment fees is illegal. “This is in breach of royal orders to treat any swine flu case in government or private hospitals and provide the necessary care for patients at the expense of the state,” said Hussein Al-Shareef of NSHR. “Our representative has contacted Sami Abu Dawoud, the General Manager of Health Affairs in Jeddah, concerning the matter.” Bereaved father Abu Bakr Mohammed Hassan, a Yemeni resident, said that his daughter contracted the virus while at the unnamed hospital and that he informed Health Affairs, obtaining an order before her death for the hospital to provide them with a full medical report. “The hospital delayed producing the report and instead asked for the treatment fees,” Hassan said. Saudi Arabia has so far recorded 23 deaths from swine flu. According to the Health Ministry, around 3,500 people have contracted swine flu in the Kingdom, with 265 cases reported in Makkah and 206 cases reported in Madina. The ministry has placed an order of four million swine flu vaccine shots which are expected to arrive by Oct. 24. In the United States, health secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday Americans could begin receiving the first vaccines as early as the first week of October – which is sooner than expected. Sebelius said the bulk of the vaccine is still scheduled for release nationwide by mid
