“In this program, a total of 13,478 people were identified with suspected symptoms of tuberculosis, of which 386 people were found to be suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, and free treatment was also started for them,” she explained.

The national strategic program for tuberculosis control is one of the main interventions to carry out active TB diagnosis (screening) in populations at higher risk or vulnerable populations, Nasehi noted.

“Among the vulnerable populations that have been added to the list of population subgroups defined in the national tuberculosis control program in recent years and have been emphasized more than before, we can refer to immigrants and refugees regardless of nationality,” she pointed out.

In February, Nasehi said that the issue is not limited to non-Iranians, that is, 30-40 percent of the people who may be covered by vaccination or TB treatment in this program are Iranians.

“Family members of tuberculosis patients, people with HIV infection, people who have kidney failure and are on dialysis, those who have pulmonary silicosis or are candidates for transplantation, and patients who, due to the treatment process, need suppressive treatments, are the main groups that we are responsible for checking their status.”

“Other groups such as people who live in underdeveloped areas, homeless people, drug addicts, and immigrants coming from countries with a high prevalence of tuberculosis are also our second priority.”

Vaccination of foreign nationals

A plan for the vaccination of foreign nationals against three contagious diseases was started on December 31, 2022, and is progressing according to the schedule.

The program was started in 27 universities of medical sciences in the country, and fortunately, the work has progressed well and has been welcomed by the target community, Mohsen Zahraei, the head of the preventable diseases department of the Ministry of Health, said on January 11.

By referring to health centers and bases, they receive the oral vaccines of polio, double measles, and rubella, he said.

On December 23, 2022, a national specialized workshop for ‘risk communication and social participation’ was held in order to empower health workers in the supplementary vaccination campaign for the refugee population with the participation of UNICEF.

Considering the Risk Communication and Social Participation Program (RCCE) is one of the most important health promotion programs the program was a combination of information campaigns, health promotion, social mobilization, attracting people participation and other organizations, and establishing effective communication.

In May 2022, it was announced that all foreign immigrants and refugees under the age of five would be vaccinated against polio and measles. Children under the age of five and foreign immigrants will be inoculated through door-to-door visits in high-risk areas across the country.

The measles vaccination program in Iran started in 1984 when 34 percent of the population was vaccinated in the first year and 90 to 95 percent of the population after 6 years. Also in 2003, 33 million people were vaccinated with a national program to eradicate measles in the country.

Concerns about the spread of measles in the country are growing as the Afghan population grows.

Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under 5 years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

Measles is caused by a virus in the paramyxovirus family and it is normally passed through direct contact and through the air. The virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body. Measles is a human disease and is not known to occur in animals.

More than 140,000 people died from measles in 2018 – mostly children under the age of 5 years, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.

The inhumane sanctions have had devastating effects on the health system and the question is who is responsible for the deaths of some innocent patients due to the lack of essential medicines, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi has said.

He made the remarks at the 69th session of the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean, which was held in Egypt on October 10-13, 2022.

Einollahi said in July 2022 that despite the sanctions that have existed since the beginning of the Islamic Revolution to prevent the country from progressing, Iran has the strongest health system in the region.

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The results of several meetings that have been held in this regard will be published soon as the Iranian medicine protocol, IRNA quoted Nafiseh Hosseini Yekta as saying on Monday.

“There are a number of outpatient and counseling centers in different cities that provide services to COVID-19 patients; There are also health centers in Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, and Mashhad universities that provide services to outpatients.

In some hospitals in different cities, Iranian traditional medicine specialists are consulting hospitalized patients. Also, the expansion of these centers and providing services to patients on a large scale in different cities is on the agenda,” she explained.

According to published articles, countries that have used traditional medicine to help treat patients during the epidemic have better conditions than other countries, she stated.

Pointing out that over 100 clinical trials have been conducted and the results have been extracted, she stated that some researchers sought to obtain licenses for natural products to treat COVID-19; At present, 17 natural products have been licensed and 9 have been produced and entered the pharmaceutical market.

Earlier in September, Hosseini Yekta said that the instructions for the use of Iranian traditional medicine to treat COVID-19 have been prepared.

Simple instructions that help patients along with the treatments available in conventional medicine. Many of the contents of this guideline were also subjected to clinical trials, which clearly had a positive effect on the symptoms and duration of hospitalization of patients compared to the control group.

Scientists are trying to play a role in the production of effective medicine in the treatment of various diseases, including COVID-19, despite sanctions and global pressures.

Alireza Abbassian the health ministry’s director of the traditional medicine department, said in March that Iranian traditional medicine can play an effective role in strengthening the immune system to resist the novel coronavirus infection.

Moreover, a center offering traditional medicine services to coronavirus patients was inaugurated in Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in November 2020.

Iranian traditional medicine is one of the most ancient forms of traditional medicine. It is grounded in the concept of four senses of humor: phlegm (Balgham), blood (Dam), yellow bile (Safra’), and black bile (Sauda’). The concept of four senses of humor is based on the teachings of Rhazes and Avicenna into an elaborate medical system.

Iranian traditional medicine strongly focuses on prioritizing health maintenance and disease prevention over treatment.

8,000 herbal species grow in Iran

So far, about 30,000 plant species are identified in the world, with Iran’s share of about 8,000 species that its plant diversity is more than the whole of Europe.

Currently, about 2,300 species of medicinal plants have been identified in the country; while medicinal plants account for one-third of the medicines used in human societies, the share of world trade in these products is about $124 billion and Iran’s share is $570 million, which is only 0.5 percent of the total.

The per capita consumption of medicinal plants in Iran is about one kilogram of dried plants, in other words, 83,000 tons of medicinal plants worth 1.2 trillion rials (around $29 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) are consumed in the country, while in Europe this amount is 900 grams and in the United States is 2.5 kilograms.

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Currently, 257 counties, including all provincial capital cities, are in the high-risk red zones, according to the Ministry.

“It is necessary that the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control to shut down all government organizations, restrict intercity traveling by personal and public vehicles, and impose heavy penalties for violators, otherwise the number of deaths would rise to 600 per day.”

The number of coronavirus cases has been rising in Iran after millions traveled across the country during the two-week Noruz holidays, which officially began on March 20.

Before Noruz, health officials voiced concerns about the fourth COVID wave due to the traditional travels, mostly to visit family and loved ones.

Authorities had urged people to limit travel and in-person visits, saying that travels during the Noruz festival could lead to another wave of infections across the country.

The UK variant was first observed in the country a few months ago, but now the virus has spread widely across the country to an extent that no provinces have been spared from it, Massoud Mardani, a member of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control, said.

The rate and severity of transmission are much higher than the Chinese virus, being 70 percent more infective, he added, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Unlike the Wuhan virus, new strain infects young people under the age of 20 and children more, and especially the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are at greater risk, he noted.

New cases and mortalities

In a press briefing on Wednesday, Health Ministry’s spokesperson Sima-Sadat Lari confirmed 20,954 new cases of COVID-19 infection, raising the total number of infections to 1,984,348. She added that 1,675,891 patients have so far recovered, but 4,177 remain in critical conditions of the disease.

During the past 24 hours, 193 patients have lost their lives, bringing the total number of deaths to 63,699, she added.

So far, 13,331,229 COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been performed in the country.

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Addressing the National Headquarters for Managing and Fighting the Coronavirus on Thursday, President Rouhani said if the people’s non-compliance with the health protocols leads to the resurgence of the coronavirus in the country, we will have to reinstate some restrictions in the country, according to the president’s official website.

Despite the health sector’s preparedness for the resurgence of the coronavirus in the country, president Rouhani pointed to the people’s key role in the fight against the disease.

Iran’s health officials have voiced alarm over a surge in infections, urging the nation to respect health protocols to control the spread of the disease.

New figures

Iran’s death toll from the novel coronavirus rose by 207 to 25,222 from Thursday to Friday, according to the Health Ministry. It was the highest single-day death toll since the ministry registered 216 deaths on August 1.

The ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Friday that 3,563 new cases were identified during the same period, bringing the total number of positive cases to 439,882 in the country, the hardest-hit by the pandemic in the West Asia.

Of the new cases detected, 1,708 patients have been admitted to the hospital, Lari added.

At least 369,842 patients have recovered from the coronavirus infection so far or have been discharged from hospitals across Iran, the spokeswoman said.

Among those undergoing treatment in medical centers at present, 4,023 coronavirus patients have critical health conditions, Lari said.

She also said more than 3,879,000 coronavirus diagnostic tests have been carried out in Iran so far.

Since the virus outbreak in the country in February, Iran has been trying to produce a vaccine to treat coronavirus patients.

Vaccine production

On Friday, Iran’s Ambassador to Moscow Kazem Jalali Iran and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund are discussing the joint production of a vaccine against COVID-19, Reuters reported.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has said it is in talks with a number of countries about the possibility of producing the Russian ‘Sputnik-V’ vaccine abroad, and has signed a deal to manufacture 300 million doses in India.

“We are holding talks, I spoke with the head of RDIF Kirill Dmitriev, our officials have held several rounds of consultations and we announced that we will co-operate,” Jalali said.

“We announced that we will cooperate in two-three areas. That includes joint production with Russia. Iran has great potential to produce the vaccine,” Jalali was quoted as saying by Russian media.

Iran’s Health Minister Saeid Namaki said in late June that an Iranian version of COVID-19 vaccine had shown promise in tests on animals.

International race to develop a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 has accelerated in recent months.

In August, Russia became the first country in the world to grant regulatory approval for a COVID-19 vaccine.

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“Red” is the highest level in the country’s color-coded risk scale. Iran has opted for a color-coded system of white for low-risk parts of the country, yellow for medium-risk and red for high-risk areas.

The ministry’s spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said that provinces of Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, East Azarbaijan, South Khorasan, Semnan, Qazvin, Lorestan, Ardebil, Khuzestan, Kermanshah, Gilan, Bushehr, Zanjan, Ilam, Khorasan Razavi, Mazandaran, Alborz, West Azarbaijan, Markazi, Kerman, North Khorasan, Hamedan and Yazd are on the red alert, according to IRNA.

Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Hormuzgan, Fars and Golestan provinces are also on alarming situation.

Recently, Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi warned that if the current course continues, the death toll will reach 45,000.

He said the whole country is on red alert as daily deaths and cases increased at an alarming rate.

“The color classification doesn’t make sense anymore. We no longer have orange and yellow. The entire country is red,” Harirchi said on television on September 18.

The ministry’s spokeswoman said 184 people lost their lives due to the coronavirus from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 24,840.

Lari added that the number of the positive cases rose by 3,605 to 432,798 during the same period.

She noted that 365,846 people have been discharged from hospitals across the country and 3,948 patients are in critical conditions and are being treated in intensive care units.

Iran has been trying to contain the spread of the virus by enforcing social distancing measures and making face masks mandatory in public places since the outbreak of the virus in the country in February.

But, recent holidays in the country, during which many people traveled to other cities, led to the increase of new cases in the country.

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