Riyadh, July 13: As the number of swine flu victims in the Kingdom rose to 184, the Ministry of Health has intensified its awareness program throughout the Kingdom by sending SMS text messages to mobile phone users.
“In the wake of the increasing incidence of swine flu, we have embarked on an intensive campaign to educate the masses on the preventive measures that should be taken to fight the disease,” Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Al-Mirghalani said.
The ministry announced a further 11 cases of swine flu on Sunday. The new patients include seven Saudis (three males and four females), and four expatriates (two males and two females). A total 170 people have recovered from the illness so far.
Al-Mirghalani said the ministry launched the program with the Kingdom’s three main cell phone operators — Saudi Telecom Company, Mobily and Zain.
“This is an effective way to make people read the ministry’s message to protect themselves,” said Al-Mirghalani. “According to feedback received from the three cell phone operators, more than 20 million people are estimated to have received health messages that were sent in five dispatches,” he added.
—-Agencies