Lessons learnt, Centre gears up to tackle swine flu
8 Oct 2015 6:00 AM IST
Taking a cue from last year’s swine flu deaths – mostly in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra – the Centre has issued an advisory on the matter.
The Union Ministry of Health on Wednesday issued, after Health Minister JP Nadda called a meeting on the matter, a counsel to states on H1N1 directing them to report preparedness status by October 10.
The Ministry has asked states to ensure effective surveillance for cases of influenza illness and severe acute respiratory ailments.
Meanwhile, the national capital, which is already grappling with the worst dengue crisis, has initiated measures to fight swine flu. Delhi had witnessed over 4,259 swine flu cases and 12 deaths last season.
The city’s health department has said that more than one lakh capsules and syrup of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu/<g data-gr-id="41">Fluvir</g>) were already available with Delhi government and if required, more capsules and syrup could be purchased.
The Union Health Ministry has asked the states to set up a functional control room from October 15 for monitoring preparedness, cases, mortality and other aspects of H1N1 influenza.
The states were also advised to ensure that they have the required and adequate quantities of stock of drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), viral diagnostic kits, viral transport media, personal protective equipment and N-95 masks, at different levels in the health care system.
The advisory also directs state governments to ensure the availability of sufficient isolation facilities as well as well-equipped facilities to manage critical respiratory emergencies.
The Ministry has also asked for a status report from the states on their preparedness in terms of PPE, N95 masks, testing kits, medicines, vaccines etc, by
October 10.
“It’s just the start and states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana have started reporting swine flu cases. 10 new H1N1 cases have been reported from Gujarat with two fatalities, while both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have reported 12 positive cases,” a senior official in the Ministry of Health said, adding a total of 2,276 swine flu deaths between January 1 and August 31 have been reported from across the country.
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