New Delhi, August 14: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday called for a more effective social communication to prevent panic among the people in the wake of an increase in the number of A (H1N1) influenza cases in the country.
Twenty people have died and 1,283 others affected because of swine flu that has now spread to 17 States and Union Territories. Pune is the worst affected with 12 deaths.
Speaking at the meeting of the Union Cabinet where swine flu was discussed Dr. Singh said that panic should not be created over the issue as adequate supply of medicine was available. He also said the messages should be conveyed that there was no need to rush to the hospital.
Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad made a presentation to update his Cabinet colleagues on the swine flu situation in the country following which the issue was discussed in great detail.
Expressing concern over the swine flu situation, Dr. Singh asked the Health and Family Welfare Minister to work towards restoring confidence of the people and ensure that there is no panic.
Talking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Azad the Centre and the State governments were taking all possible measures to check the flu from spreading. “For the past one week we have been reserving places in government and some private hospitals. We are also looking for some private laboratories since they are now needed,’’ he said.
Later briefing reporters over the latest situation, Dr. R.K. Srivastava, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) said that the disease had established itself in the community, it would help people in “creating immunity’’ towards the virus as a result of which the body will fight the disease naturally and the number of cases will start declining. “Unless the virus mutates violently, there is no cause for worry,’’ he said.
Regarding the situation in Pune, Dr. Shiv Lal, Director, National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said the treatment protocol had been modified as the disease had spread and the mortality was high. It has now been decided that not all patients required testing and testing would be done only on the basis of clinical findings where the decision of the doctor would be final.
Patients with mild symptoms would be treated with paracetamol and anti-allergy; those with slight severe symptoms like high fever and acute throat infection would be put on Tamiflu and home quarantined, while those with acute respiratory distress and other associated illnesses would be hospitalised. However, old people, children, asthmatics and those in the “high risk groups’’ will be hospitalised. These guidelines have also been sent to Mumbai and Delhi.
Fearing the possibility of disease “clusters’’ coming up in Pune, Dr. Srivastava said the treatment protocol would further change as the entire community would have to be isolated and the surrounding population put on “ring prophylaxis’’. He said it was too early to suggest why Pune had seen this kind of an outbreak. This is still being analysed, he added.
Further, Dr. Srivastava said using masks would not protect people from the virus, and the panic had led to an acute shortage of masks. In a country of over 100 crore people it would be practically impossible to meet their demands for masks.
–Agencies