YANGON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's parliamentarians have put forward a motion urging the government to carry out extensive awareness campaign against the spread of seasonal influenza A/H1N1, also known as swine flu.
The campaign is supposed to be launched at busy or crowded areas, such as schools, markets, factories, railway stations, ports and airports.
Advising people not to go to crowded places, parliamentarians of the House of Representatives (Lower House) stressed the need to introduce preventive vaccination against the epidemic.
"If H1N1 happens to combine with H5N1, which occurs in Dawei, genetic mutation can take place and a new strain of virus will result," a Member of Parliament warned.
Another MP said, "Because of poor health knowledge of the people, low income, weakness in food knowledge and social system and insufficient support of health knowledge, the spread of disease may become rampant and go out of control."
The MPs supported the motion urging the government to collect and distribute gear, medicine and aid to effectively control the disease.
In the latest development, one more death from H1N1 was reported on Wednesday, bringing the death toll nationwide to 13, accounting for 4.5 percent out of 99 confirmed cases since July 21.
However, no medical staff have contracted the virus from direct contact with patients, the health authorities said, adding that patients diagnosed with respiratory disease in Yangon are being treated at a specialist hospital in North Okkalarpa, a town near Yangon.
The authorities are dispatching a rapid relief team to distribute medical supplies and potential quarantine procedures.
Myanmar has also faced another influenza outbreak in the rainy season of July, namely H5N1 (bird flu), leaving 5,000 chickens culled. The bird flu occurred on July 26 in Dawei town, southern Tanintharyi region.
