H1N1 Swine Flu Still In Bangalore

H1N1 ALERT 20 POSITIVE CASES ACROSS STATE

BBMP DOES SURVEYS IN VICINITY OF PATIENTS’ HOUSES

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

    Don't neglect that cough and fever. Over the past nine days, there have been 20 positive cases of H1N1 (Influenza A) across the state. There have been five deaths, the last being on Saturday in a city hospital of a man from Kolar. 
    ‘‘It is now taking us about 4-5 days to confirm each H1N1 case. But the process will be expedited. When we find a positive case, our officials will visit the patient's house and also survey 40-50 houses in its vicinity to check if the virus has spread. So far, we have not found any positive case in 
    such neighbourhood 
    surveys,” YM Ramachandramurthy, joint director, health, BBMP told reporters on Monday. 
    The civic body is yet to locate the houses of five persons found positive in the city on April 5 and April 7. 
    According to Dr H Paramesh, pulmonologist and director of Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital, there has been herd immunity among the public to Influenza A. “There have been cases here and there, but it's not rampant. There has been resistance to the virus. Otherwise, the number of cases would have been more now," he said. 
NO SCANNING AT BIA Despite the large number of positive cases, the state health and family welfare department has not yet commenced screening of passengers who arrive at the Bengaluru International Airport from other cities in the country and as well as overseas. 
    “Two years ago, there were 1,800 positive cases for H1N1 virus. This year, it has not risen to that scale as yet. We have seen 67 cases in 2012. In April, the first 4-5 days, we saw many cases but the number of cases has subsided over the past three days,” said Dr Chandrashekar Malaji, joint director of communicable diseases, state health and family welfare department. 
What To Do Rush to the doctor if you experience symptoms Maintain personal hygiene Reduce time spent in crowded areas and 
wear a mask Keep a distance of at least 1 metre from people with symptoms Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after touching your nose, eyes and mouth 
Eat nutritious food and boost your immune system 
The Don’ts Don't shake hands or hug others while greeting one another Don't take medicines without doctor's advice Don't send your child to school if she has flu symptoms Don’t spit in public places Where to go Those who experience symptoms of H1N1 can go to the testing centres at RGUHS, Narayana Nethralaya, Manipal Hospital and Nimhans. 
Symptoms of H1N1 
    High fever, sore throat, cold, cough with yellow sputum, difficulty in breathing, severe vomiting, diarrhoea 
    TIMES VIEW 
    It increasingly appears that the state health authorities are not moving speedily to tackle the spread of the H1N1 virus, especially following the lessons of the 2009 outbreak. We have only a few testing centres and samples of suspect cases have to be sent to the Institute of Virology in Pune for final confirmation. By now, the government should have ensured there are many more centres for sample testing and the turn-around time is faster. This is a preventable disease and this, as well as safety measures, should be communicated speedily to the people. For more information, you can call toll-free number 1056 or 22660000/23469521