Parliament asks to approve KD 100m to pay overseas medical billsKUWAIT CITY, Jan 6: The Ministry of Health has affirmed that no medical authority announced anything about avian fl u cases in hospitals, disclosing it is currently coordinating with the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) to exchange information and updates regarding the virus, reports Al-Anba daily. This came after the discovery of H5N8 cases in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, followed by the issuance of a circular banning the import of all kinds of poultry, its products and eggs by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. In a press statement, the ministry reiterated there is no threat of H5N8 outbreak in the country; stressing the virus is transmitted through direct contact with infected poultry.The ministry has taken all the necessary precautionary measures in accordance with the directive and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Meanwhile, the government has referred to the Parliament a proposal to approve the allocation of KD 100 million to pay the pending receipts of hospitals and medical offices overseas, reports Aljarida daily quoting informed sources.They said this proposal is aimed at avoiding the lawsuits that might be filed against Ministry of Health, indicating that those receipts are from the time when Dr Ali Al-Obeidi was the Minister of Health. The sources stressed that the proposal reflects the keenness of Ministry of Health to cover the expenses of overseas treatment for the benefit of citizens. They revealed that the proposal will increase the value of the item related in overseas treatment within the budget of 2017/2018 to almost KD 220 million, adding that the proposal has been referred to the parliament’s Budgets and Final Accounts Committee in order to tackle the proposal as a fasttrack issue