Swine Flu Panic in Telangana as the Death Toll Increases

The death toll in Telangana, India rises to 19 since winter and over 150 people have tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

The panic has spread among the medical staff as two doctors of Gandhi General Hospital and one from Osmania General Hospital have also tested positive to swine flu.

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Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on Wednesday called the state health department for a determined effort to tackle the spread of swine flu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on the situation and has requested for Central medical teams to be sent to Hyderabad to bring it under control.

“I have requested the PM to dispatch medical teams to help the state health officials. More medicines have also been requested,” KCR said.

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Isolation wards have been set up now in the government hospitals in the city and also in the area and district hospitals across the state, the chief minister said. Private hospitals too have been asked to create isolation wards to deal with the cases, he said. From now on, a daily media briefing would be held on the swine flu situation, the CM informed.

State Health Minister Dr T Rajaiah, a medical doctor, said that while there was no reason to panic yet, rigorous screening and testing of people admitted to hospitals has started.

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"The prolonged chilly weather has compounded the problem. There is no reason to panic but we have to be careful. One reason why are able to detect so many cases is because of the excellent virology lab we have in Hyderabad," Dr Rajaiah said.

State Coordinating Officer for swine flu, Dr.K.Subhakar of the Fever and Chest Diseases Hospital, said that the prolonged cold weather in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has increased the spread of H1N1 virus. Once the temperature rises, the virus won’t be active and it will not spread as quickly as it is now.

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The chief minister requested people not to panic and visit a doctor if they have severe cold and cough coupled with body aches to rule out swine flu. If diagnosed with the disease, they should go to a government hospital instead of a private one as the government has stocks of Tamiflu tablets which may not be available at private hospitals.

"We have 16,000 tablets at all government hospitals and have requested for another 40,000 to 50,000 from the Centre. We have also requested for 10,000 bottles of the syrup form of the medicine," he said.

Source-Medindia