State health authorities step up surveillance over swine flu deaths

A high-level meeting chaired by Director of Health on Sunday issued guidelines to district health officers

With 13 swine flu deaths in Maharashtra in January this year, state health authorities have stepped up surveillance, identified a core team of experts and are preparing to ensure that ventilators are functional within the next two days.

A high-level meeting chaired by Director of Health Dr Satish Pawar on Sunday issued guidelines to district health officers and other officials to maintain strict vigilance.

“There are more than 37 patients admitted to various hospitals across the state and a majority of deaths are from Nagpur (eight), Pune (four) and Aurangabad (one). We want to urge people not to panic and avail of immediate treatment from government hospitals if they have symptoms of cold, cough and fever,” Pawar told The Indian Express.

The guidelines on how to treat swine flu patients are as before and three categories — A, B and C — have been circulated again.

At least 37 hospitals have identified isolation wards for swine flu patients and there are more than 100 ventilators. There are another 95 health care facilities where the treatment will be provided.

The state also has a sufficient stock of three lakh tami flu (oseltamavir) tablets, 17,000 masks and 2,200 personal protective devices, Pawar said.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories