Health Ministry officials confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that two cases of swine flu had been diagnosed in Israel – both patients are in good condition. Two other people are currently under testing to see if they have contracted the disease.
The first person to contract the disease, 26-year old Tomer Vagim, returned from Mexico on Friday. He is in isolated care in Laniado hospital in Netanya. Health officials fear his niece may have also contracted the disease, and she is currently undergoing tests to confirm the diagnosis. The second case of swine flu is a 49-year old man who recently returned from Mexico. He is recovering in isolation at Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba. Health officials fear a 9 year old boy may have contracted the disease as well.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting at his office for 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. He may decide to transfer the responsibility for the situation from the Health Ministry to the Defense Ministry due to its emergency nature. Minister of Defense Ehud Barak has already ordered his office to prepare for this eventuality, but health officials said they did not know of any plans to transfer authority for the situation away from the ministry.
Health Ministry officials met earlier on Tuesday and raised the national alert level from 3 to 4. They asked citizens to refrain from traveling to Mexico and to stay home if they experience flu symptoms, such as high fever or trouble in breathing.
The World Health Organization upgraded its world alert level from 3 to 4 as more cases of the flu were reported globally. I Mexico, 152 people have died from the disease, and more than 2,000 have been hospitalized. Infections have also been reported in the United States, Spain, New Zealand and elsewhere. Israel is the first country in the Middle East to report cases of the flu.