Govt takes swift action as swine flu affects 47 in state

Sumati Yengkhom,TNN | Feb 20, 2015, KOLKATA: Five new cases of swine flu were confirmed from around Bengal on Thursday, taking the total number of affected patients in the state to 47, even as the state government took proactive measures to combat the spread of the potentially killer ailment.

There has been only two swine flu-related deaths in Bengal so far. Apart from an infant admitted at the BC Roy Hospital, the condition of all other patients are stable.

Aparna Banerjee, 60, of Khardah was admitted to a Barrackpore nursing home last Monday with high fever, sore throat and bodyache. Her swab samples were sent to National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Beliaghata, on Tuesday. On Wednesday evening, her son got a call from Swasthya Bhawan, informing that the samples had tested positive to swine flu, and directing the family to bring her to the Beliaghata ID Hospital. From Thursday, she is under treatment there.

"Even before we went to collect the report, health officials called us to inform that swine flu had been confirmed," said Pradip Kumar Banerjee, her son. "They also asked us to bring my mother to the ID hospital in case the nursing home was not well-equipped. We were amazed at the kind of proactive measures taken by the health department."

The health officials' assurance of treatment came as a huge relief for the family, as the nursing home had been asking them to take the patient away, suspecting swine flu.

When Aparna was brought to the Beliaghata hospital on Thursday, an attendant was waiting to wheel her into the isolation ward and doctors were ready to start treatment.

"The health department has taken this measure to ensure that the affected get the right treatment," said Malay De, the health secretary. "We get the confirmed cases by 4pm eeach day. After this, we call up the patient's family to check whether they are getting treated at the right facility. In case they aren't, they are asked to admit the patient to the Beliaghata ID hospital, or the BC Roy Hospital, if the patient is a child."

Dhruvjyoti Gupta, a shipping officer who returned from Thailand 10 days ago and was undergoing treatment for high fever at a private hospital, also tested positive to H1N1 last Saturday. His family, too, was asked to bring him to the ID hospital. The Regent Park resident is currently under treatment there.

There has been a huge rush of patients to the ID hospital for getting samples tested. But doctors are screening them and only collecting samples from those they suspect to be suffering from swine flu, after going through all the clinical symptoms.

"We are following a strict treatment procedure and are collecting samples rationally. Not all H1N1 patients need medication. All antiviral drugs are toxic and should not be given randomly," said Dr U K Bhadra, the principal of the ID Hospital.

If not prescribed with caution, patients tend to develop resistance to the drug. To drive home the point, Dr Bhadra pointed out that two medications for H1N1 — Rimantadine and Amandatine — are no longer effective. Now, Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) is used to fight the virus.