Muscat: People with dengue fever have been asked not to donate blood as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of the disease. The Department of Blood Banks at the Ministry of Health has also decided not to collect blood in areas where the cases of dengue fever have been found.
However, the Blood Bank has been asking healthy people to donate blood, which is of prime importance in saving the lives of others. Blood donation in the Sultanate of Oman has been voluntary and without any fee, as the MoH works on the idea of not importing blood from outside the country.
In light of the spread of dengue fever that is caused by the Aedes mosquito, the Department of Blood Banks announced it would take maximum care to avoid the spread of dengue fever through blood collected from an infected person.
Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, had sounded alarm earlier about the dengue fever in some parts of the capital area during the past weeks. He warned that the mosquito that spreads dengue fever also caused symptoms of yellow fever noticed in some African countries.
He said the authorities were doing joint activities to combat the spread of the disease, and awareness programmes were carried out in educational and other institutions.
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