Hyderabad, June 10: Syed Reyhan, the medical student who contracted Swine Flu on a trip to Canada, has stated that Swine Flu is not dangerous and is completely curable. “I want to clear this misconception about Swine Flu as something terrible to contract,” he said. He was discharged from the Government Chest Hospital on Tuesday morning after being in isolation for a week. He later talked to the media at an interactive session.
Syed Reyhan, a second year MBBS student of Deccan Medical College, was admitted to the Chest Hospital on June 1. He had arrived in Hyderabad on May 30 on British Airways Flight No 277 from Toronto via London.
Though he had not noticed the symptoms at Shamshabad airport, he developed fever when he came home. “That was when I realised I could have contracted Swine Flu and got myself admitted to the Chest Hospital,” he said. “Being a medical student I was not afraid and knew what to do,” he added. When asked where he could have contracted the Flu he shrugged and said it could have been anywhere, “In Canada or London.” The 23-year-old Reyhan noticed some symptoms in London. When he went to the me dical desk at Heathrow airport they examined him and assured him that it was common flu.
The seemingly healthy-looking Reyhan said he didn’t feel terribly lonely when he was in isolation. This ,although his family and friends could not be with him he talked to them over the telephone. And then there was a television set to keep boredom at bay.
“Dr Subhakar and his team took very good care of me and I am grateful to them,” said Reyhan.
Reyhan spoke candidly about his medical experience because he wants to dispel the myths associated with Swine Flu. Since he is a student of medicine he offers a unique perspective. “Swine Flu has grown bigger and more dangerous with the telling. In fact, it is completely curable and the government has excellent facilities to care for people who contract it,” he said.
–Agencies–