Health Ministry assures adequate stock of viral flu medicine

The Ministry of Health has reassured the public that they have adequate supplies of the required medicine to treat the viral flu that is spreading in Malé.

The viral flu outbreak has led to a significant increase in hospital admissions, particularly among children, due to symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.

The ministry has stated that they have an adequate supply of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and other necessary medication to effectively treat the flu.

The flu cases in the Malé area have appeared to increase suddenly overnight. However, according to a report by Mihaaru News, the spread of the flu has been occurring over the past week.

After a significant crowd gathered to watch the Independence Day parade and floats, there has been a surge in the number of people who have caught the flu. As a result, the emergency rooms of hospitals were at their capacity this morning. Many patients sought treatment at hospitals in Malé, Hulhumalé, and Villimalé due to the increase in flu cases.

There have been rumors circulating that pharmacies are running out of medicines and ORS packets, for treating the flu outbreak.

According to a health ministry official's statement to Mihaaru News, the State Trading Organisation (STO) has a stock of medicines available.

According to the health authorities, there are currently 84,000 packets of ORS in stock, with 10,000 of them located in the Greater Male' Region. Furthermore, additional stock of ORS is expected to arrive on Monday.

The health authorities clarified that while some pharmacies may have temporarily run out of stock due to high demand, they do have a sufficient quantity of ORS in storage. The authorities are actively working to restock the pharmacies and ensure that the necessary medical supplies, including ORS packets are readily available.

Although there has been a sudden spike in cases in the Male' area, the outbreak has been ongoing for quite some time now. A few weeks ago, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) had also issued guidelines to prevent the spread of the disease.

According to the ministry, there have been more than 100 new flu cases reported since last night, with a significant number of them affecting children.

Efforts are currently underway by the HPA to investigate and determine the cause of the sudden increase in the flu cases.