Mir Farhat
SRINAGAR, Feb 18: Government today sounded swine flu alert in Kashmir after two persons died due to H1N1 virus at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Srinagar and 71 tested positive.
Director SKIMS, Dr Showkat Ahmad Zargar, told a press conference here today that hospital has received 670 patients with H1N1 symptoms but only 71 tested positive and out of which two died.
“670 H1NI-suspected samples were received from different parts of the Valley this year, out of which only 275 were found eligible for test. 113 were declared having Influenza type A and till Wednesday 71 have been found tested positive with the H1N1 virus and two deaths have taken place”, said Zargar.
The Director said that while one death has been recorded to have occurred due to H1N1 virus, but the woman who died had critical cardiac disease and she was infected with the virus also.
Dr Zargar said that though there has been a sudden increase in the number of patients, but there was no need to panic as the disease is not widespread. He said the hospital admitted only those patients who needed respiratory support or ventilation.
“We discourage the unnecessary flow of patients to the hospitals. The best treatment for the patients is self-imposed isolation. The patient needs to be kept in separate room,” advised the Director.
Dr Zargar said that the hospital has been receiving hundreds of patients suspected to be infected with the virus since October last year.
The Director also issued an advisory asking people infected with the virus to avoid social gatherings. He suggested the Government to extend the winter break of schools. “Since children and elderly are more susceptible to infection, we advise the Government to close down the schools for some more time. We also advise people to take precautions and care even though the situation is not out of control,” he said.
Dr Parvez Koul, Head of Pulmonary Medicine and Principal Investigator for the Influenza Project said that there is an outbreak of the disease and they are monitoring the situation. “Virus is there. We cannot say anything conclusive as of now. The only thing we have to see is how it unfolds over the period of time. As of now we have enough drugs, but, yes, if the patient inflow increases then we need more support,” he said.
Koul also warned the patients that if their children get sick they should not send them to schools or tuition centers as their mates would get infected.
Earlier, the health officials were accused of trying to hide the swine flu outbreak in the Valley. “We have no reason to brush this information under the carpet and we did not wanted to spread false reports without proper assessment,” Dr Zargar said when asked why they were denying the outbreak of the disease.
While the SKIMS authorities said that Tamiflu drugs available in the Valley are only 500 units, the Health Department has requested the Government for immediate procurement of 30,000 units amid the outbreak of the swine flu.
The Department of Health in a letter to the Government has requested for an immediate procuring of 30,000 units Tamiflu drugs. The department shall also procure and disburse personal protection equipment (PPE) comprising of about 5000 units of body covers, 30,000 units N95 masks for doctors and viral transport medium (VTM).
The department has urged the Government to expedite the procurement due to the threat of the outbreak of the swine flu in the Valley.
The meeting chaired by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Rohit Kansal, on Monday with all the Deputy Commissioners of the Kashmir province, besides Director SKIMS Dr Showkat Zargar and Director Health, Kashmir, Dr Saleem-ul-Rehman.
Earlier, the doctors too have expressed their grave concern over the lack of requisite protection of doctors who deal with the swine flu infected patients, citing extremely risky conditions for them.
Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) President Dr Nisar ul Hassan, an H1N1 expert said that medical staff involved in treatment of H1N1 patients are not provided with personal protection equipment (PPE) which includes N 95 masks, goggles, gowns, caps, gloves and shoe covers thus putting them at risk of contracting the deadly virus.
“The deadly H1N1 virus is transmitted airborne and spreads by droplet infection so unprotected medical staff have every chance to catch the disease,” Dr Nisar said.
He said that health care workers in close contact with H1N1 patients are recommended to receive chemoprophylaxis till 10 days of last exposure to a maximum of six weeks and after that a new team has to be in place.
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