The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab has notified Swine Flu (H1N1) as an epidemic, Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary, Health & FW, said on Wednesday.
Mahajan said the department has constituted a State Advisory Committee under the chairmanship of Dr D Behera, Prof and Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, PGIMER, Chandigarh.
The committee observed that patients of swine flu who were having other chronic diseases had high mortality rate as compared to patients not having chronic diseases. It was also observed that patients who were treated by private doctors were referred to the higher centres only when they become critical thus increasing the death rate.
To ensure early reporting from all the doctors, Punjab has notified the disease of H1N1- Swine Flu under Epidemic Disease Act. Now, all hospitals —Government as well as private will have to inform the Department of Health about a case of IlI (Influenza like Illness) having chronic diseases, so that such cases are treated at the earliest and proper guidelines of the Government is also followed.
The government has directed all hospitals to keep a suspected as well as confirmed case of Swine flu in isolation in order to contain the spread of the disease. They will have to inform the Health department in case a suspected or confirmed case of swine flu is reported.
Mahajan said the treatment of swine flu is provided free of cost to all the patients as recommended by the Government. All private and Govt hospitals will have to abide to this notification.