year-old Saudi woman has become the eighth victim of swine flu in the Kingdom, the Ministry of Health announced Sunday. The victim, who came from Yemen, was admitted in a hospital in Najran region on Wednesday and was diagnosed to be H1N1 positive. She was moved to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and provided necessary treatment but she did not respond positively and died on Friday, the ministry said in a statement, carried by Saudi Press Agency. The ministry said the disease is spreading fast as was announced earlier by the World Health Organization (WHO) and global contagion centers. However, the ministry said, it is of moderate intensity and majority of cases have recovered soon after medical care given to them. Also the percentage of fatalities in the Kingdom due to the disease is within the global percentage, the ministry added. While offering condolences to the bereaved family, the ministry drew attention of the public to WHO's statement that though the infection is pandemic most of the cases have been cured quickly and that there was no call for worry. The ministry also called on the public not to panic because of the deaths. The rate of death from swine flu is still well below that of the common flu. The ministry appealed to all citizens and expatriates to abide by preventive and precautionary measures. It suggested immediate visit to the nearest health facility in case of common flu symptoms with a continuous rise in temperature for more than three days or difficulty in breathing, chest pain, bloody sputum or the body turning blue. The first swine flu death in the Kingdom was reported from Dammam in the Eastern Province on July 27. The other deaths occurred in Dammam, Qassim, Abha and Riyadh in a span of 10 days. Health officials say the immediate worry is the ongoing Umrah or minor pilgrimage, which normally peaks during the month of Ramadan in August-September, when more than a million people could arrive in Makkah and Madina. __
