Cutting across party lines Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday expressed concern over the unabated cases of swine flu and complained about the shortage of testing laboratories and vaccines. However, the Government said there was no need to panic but people should be alert. It also assured the Elders that there was sufficient stock of medicines and vaccines to meet any emergency.
Meanwhile, swine flu claimed 51 more lives across the country, taking the toll to 926 even as the number of those affected by the H1N1 flu virus in the country breached the 16,000 mark on Wednesday. The flu claimed the maximum number of lives in Rajasthan with 234 deaths till Tuesday while the number of affected people has risen to 4,884 in the State.
In Gujarat, the toll reached 231 while 3,527 people were affected by swine flu. As many as 127 people have perished due to the disease in Madhya Pradesh while the number of affected people in the State stood at 716. In Maharashtra, the death toll has risen to 112 while the number of affected people was 1,221. Telangana, Karnataka and Punjab too reported 54, 39 and 38 deaths respectively.
The Arunachal Pradesh Government sounded a “red alert” and has temporarily prohibited sale of pork as a precautionary measure. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was “carefully watching” the swine flu situation in India though it said that there were “no signs” yet of the makings of a large outbreak of the H1N1 virus.
In this backdrop, the Elders from all parties, including the ruling BJP and the Opposition asked the Government to spell out the steps taken to tackle the seasonal disease. Congress MPs including Ahmed Patel and some others also accused the Government of adopting a “casual approach” while dealing with the situation. Patel also claimed that more than 40 per cent of the swine flu cases in India were reported from Gujarat.
Health Minister JP Nadda refuted the allegation of casual approach and non-seriousness and said his Ministry had started taking steps from December itself. The Central Government issued advisories to all State Governments to create facilities like isolation wards for swine flu patients and train doctors on how to deal with swine flu besides providing them with protective gear, he said. Most State Governments adhered to the advisory and made necessary arrangements, the Minister said.
Reiterating that the Government did not leave “any stone unturned” to deal with swine flu, Nadda also said all Government hospitals were providing free tests for detection of the disease. Claiming that there was no shortage of Tamiflu, the Minister, however, said this medicine cannot be dispensed without a doctor’s prescription. He also said only select chemist shops can sell Tamiflu, adding this medicine is needed only in extreme cases.
On vaccination, he said experts have opined that it does not provide 100 per cent protection and questions were being raised about its efficacy. Responding to a query by Congress member Ananda Bhaskar Rapolu as to why the Government does not go for traditional Indian medicines to tackle the disease, the Health Minister said: “There is no time to go in for experiments. The Government is adhering to norms of treatment specified by the WHO.”
During the debate, Basavaraj Patil (BJP) said strict action needs to be taken to prevent private hospitals and testing laboratories from charging exorbitant rates. Pramod Tiwari (Congress) said the most number of deaths have taken place in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. He also claimed the number of deaths were in thousands all over the country as there was no diagnosis available in rural areas.
Naresh Agarwal (SP) wanted to know if the Government had a permanent solution to such epidemics as swine flu and other diseases like dengue were breaking out every year. He asked the Government to form a panel of top doctors to frame a national emergency response to meet this challenge.
In a lighter vein, Ramdas Athavale (RPI) asked if the increase in cases has anything to do with change in Government and sought information on those affected as to which party they belonged to.