IDF battles swine flu with extra leave

July 2, 2009 - 11:40 AM by Nicky

Whether you call it swine flu or Mexican flu, the number of cases of the virus H1N1 in Israel continues to creep up.

Please don't lick that pig...

Since the flu first reached here in late April, just days after it was identified in Mexico and the US, there have been anything from 300 to 542 confirmed cases, depending on which newspaper you read. And, according to one Israeli paper, the total number of flu cases has more than doubled in the last two weeks alone.

Earlier this week, the IDF decided to take some preventative measures, after an increasing number of troops came down with the illness.

The problem, the IDF discovered, was with soldiers who had come into contact with Jewish American youngsters as part of the Jewish Agency’s Taglit-Birthright program, where they bring Jewish kids from the US to Israel to experience the country.

According to Ynet, some 20 soldiers working with Taglit youth contracted the H1N1 virus over the last few weeks. These soldiers then returned to their units, and infected their fellow comrades, raising the number of sick servicemen to several dozens. Units affected – including one Navy torpedo boat – had no choice but to declare a temporary shutdown.

Now the IDF has decided not to take any more chances. This is the nation’s security we’re talking about after all. The army’s chief medical officer has ordered soldiers who work with Taglit to take five-days leave to make sure they are flu-free.

Out in the civilian world as well, flu continues to spread. Last week, the PM, Bibi Netanyahu canceled all his meetings after a close associate tested positive for swine flu.

The health maintenance funds (Kupat Holim), now responsible for treating swine flu patients, are also feeling the crunch. When my husband phoned a contact in his health fund to try to bring forward a doctor’s appointment it took him three days to get hold of her, and when he finally did she said she was too busy dealing with swine flu cases to talk.

Now there’s talk of testing all the 5,000 or so visiting athletes due to fly in any day to take part in this month’s Maccabiah games. Any that test positive will be refused entry. Deputy Health Minister, Ya’akov Litzman told reporters: “I don’t want to reach a situation in which another 5,000 people come here and just increase [the incidence of] the disease.”

Well, it’s still early days yet. Like much of Europe, flu season in these parts usually only begins in November. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.

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