While concern over the expansion of the H1N1 pandemic is increasing worldwide, the leadership in Turkmenistan claims the country is safe from swine-flu transmission and that proper preventive measures have been taken in the country. However, recent panic and confusion in different cities of Turkmenistan paints a quite different picture.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the alert level from 4 to 5 in May, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov called for taking all necessary steps to prevent the swine-flu from entering Turkmenistan. He also assured that the sanitary and epidemiological service of Turkmenistan is “adequately equipped and trained” in situations of swine-flu transmission.

Despite the authorities’ strict control over the flow of information, panic over the apparent reach of the swine-flu to Turkmenistan spread faster than any news over the last six months. This unexpected confusion over the pandemic caused different reactions among the population and from the government. Fearing infection, ordinary people in some regions did not wait for the government’s help or advice and simply started wearing protective masks in public places like hospitals, airports, train stations and schools.

When asked if any cases of the swine flu have been registered in the country, a therapist in one of the central city hospitals in Turkmenabat stated that there might be some official cases of infection but said such information is under a strict government control. At the same time, several hospitals in Turkmenabat announced a period of quarantine where all medical personnel as well as the patients were instructed to wear masks. In unofficial conversations, randomly interviewed residents of Mary, another central city in Turkmenistan, said they were shocked by the news and did not know how to protect themselves from the pandemic. Some children of younger age also reluctantly started wearing masks in classrooms until the news and confusion about the pandemic cooled down in mid-November.   

The shock started in the capital city Ashgabat, which is the center for the influx of foreign visitors, tourists and many businesses. The number of people buying vitamins and drugs at pharmacies increased significantly in early November. The unexpectedly high demand for anti-flu medicine has caused shortages in more remote regions of the country. While many rushed to pharmacies to store medicine, cases were reported where certain individuals bought all available medicine in the pharmacies and attempted to make money by reselling them at higher prices in black market. Some even say that the available antibiotics and other anti-flu medicine are not sufficient to reduce the high fever caused by this year’s seasonal pandemic. 

While the fear of the pandemic has increased, there is still no consensus among medical personnel on the nature of the flu that has caused widespread uncertainty among the population. While some hospitals say it is just a seasonal flu, nurses in other places started distributing brochures about the bird flu. In order to prevent further escalation of the panic, the Ministry of Health and the Medical Industry unofficially ordered employees not to wear masks in both private and government agencies. Among the preventive measures, the government of Turkmenistan also prohibited the annual pilgrimage of faithful Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia this year. Government officials and religious leaders of the Council of Religious Affairs said the annual trip to Mecca has been cancelled due to growing concerns over the spread of the swine-flu and recommended visiting the 38 sacred sites of Turkmenistan instead.

As tensions over the flu have developed in many areas of the country, the authorities took further measures to calm down the public. In Particular, a massive public awareness campaign has been launched in major public places. To reduce the level of panic, nurses have temporarily been designated at the airports to provide instructions on the major symptoms and basic protection against the swine-flu. Officially, the government denounced any cases of confirmed swine-flu or any cases of deaths related to the flu. However, referring to its local sources in Turkmenistan, the Vienna-based émigré group Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights reported two swine flu casualties in the country.

Instead of facing the urgency of the matter, the authorities seem to have been denying its seriousness. The panic has temporarily cooled down but the confusion over the nature of the flu remains.