The delay in the arrival of swine flu test reports from Delhi is causing problems to the health officials of the State. The department sends samples of the suspected patients to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) based in New Delhi. 

The NCDC is so packed with samples of suspected patients these days that the whole process of tests and sending the reports is taking unusually more time. The centre is putting more emphasis on the samples of the States where the disease is threatening to assume epidemic proportions and in the process putting the samples of Uttarakhand on the back burner.

When contacted, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) and district nodal officer for communicable diseases Dr Madan Bonal accepted that test reports of suspected patients are taking more time than usual. He informed that 138 samples of the suspected swine flu patients are sent to Delhi, out of which reports of 82 are awaited. Dr Bonal said that 12 cases are reported positive till date in the district.

Departmental sources revealed that NCDC officials are so busy that they are not even replying the mails and not picking up the phone calls of the health department officials of Uttarakhand. In absence of the reports of the suspected patients, the department is not acknowledging deaths of some patients. The State programe officer for communicable diseases Dr Kiran Bisht however refused to accept that the delay is causing a problem to the department.

She claimed that the NCDC is only conveying the reports of the samples found positive. Dr Bisht informed that four persons have succumbed to the disease in the State till date and samples of 18 patients were found positive. She said that the sample of patient who died in luxar in Haridwar on Wednesday was found negative. The health teams found that the woman was suffering from acute diabetes and hypertension.

Dr Bisht said that there is no need of panic on swine flu and people should practice personal hygiene to prevent infection from spreading.