Spike in respiratory illnesses in China: Haryana issues directions to ramp up surveillance

“A demi-official (DO) letter has been received from Government of India stating that there is a report of a surge in respiratory illness among children in China in recent weeks. While the available information suggests that there is no cause for any alarm in India, but there is need to review the public health and hospital preparedness,” the letter issued to all civil surgeons stated.

“In this regard, GoI has directed to ensure availability of requisite human resources, hospital beds, testing, medical countermeasures and infection control practices in health facilities…,” it added.

“So far, Haryana has not reported any clustering of unusual respiratory illness in any part, but there is always a possibility of such infections rapidly spreading. Thus, it is required to be pre-prepared for any such eventuality. The health infrastructure in Haryana is robust and prepared to deal with any such exigency if required. Yet, there is always a need to be prepared and to assess our resources and availability of the infrastructure,” a senior health department official said.