The number of swine flu patients in Dehradun district has mounted to 11 but the preparations of the health department to curb the highly contagious disease are not up to the mark. The Doon Medical College hospital staff members are themselves confused about the existence of the isolation ward mandatory for the disease as per the norms.
The State Government had sounded a high alert on swine flu last week but in the biggest hospital of the state the hospital authorities have pasted a slip swine flu ward on two small dingy rooms and placed a lock on them. On inquiry it was learnt that these two rooms are too small for a swine flu isolation ward.
The paramedical staff deployed in the hospital informed that these two rooms are packed with some furniture and cannot accommodate even a single patient. When asked to comment on the confusion about the swine flu ward in the hospital, the Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of hospital, Dr K K Tamta said that ten beds are reserved for swine flu patients in ward number eight and seven. “I am not in a position to place a sign board there as MCI team is scheduled to inspect the hospital soon,’’ he said. He claimed that room number 24 and 25 are reserved for VIP patients. Dr Tamta said that not even a single patient of swine flu is admitted in the hospital.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Dehradun Dr SK Agarwal, confirmed that 11 cases of the disease are reported in the district this year. He said that two patients infected with the disease are admitted in the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT), Jollygrant and Mahant Indiresh Hospital. He added that one patient had succumbed to the disease in the district. The CMO claimed that the department is on an alert mode for the disease. He said that adequate stock of Tami Flu medicine and special masks required by the medical staff is maintained.
Dr Agarwal said that the hospitals have been asked to prepare an isolation ward for the patients of swine flu. The health department is also claiming that it has issued an advisory for the doctors to specially monitor the patients with symptoms like fever and acute cold. Swine flu is a viral diseases, its virus is also called H1 N1 virus and its genetic analysis has shown that it has originated from the animals specially pigs hence it is called Swine flu. The virus spreads from person to person similar to that of seasonal influenza.