Keep to H1N1 guidelines,send only serious samples for test,Delhi told

While appreciating Delhi’s efforts in containing the spread of the H1N1 virus,the Centre has ‘advised’ the Sheila Dikshit government to follow the guidelines given by the Health Ministry and stop screening all patients. “This is done mainly keeping in mind the shortage of resources,” Delhi’s Principal Secretary (Health) J P Singh said. “The labs are overburdened and cannot test all samples we send.

“We put across our views but were told to keep in mind the shortage of resources.”

Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia and Singh met with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad at Vigyan Bhawan on Friday to discuss measures to contain the pandemic.

With the three testing laboratories in the Capital — National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD),All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Patel Chest Institute— getting samples from across North India,the state government was advised to not burden the laboratories with samples of patients who do not have any complications.

Sources said there is a shortage of testing agents and only Category-C patients will now be screened,tested and admitted in the Capital. While the Delhi government insisted on screening Category B2 patients (those with underlying illnesses and high-grade fever),the Health ministry has advised screening of only Category-C patients (who require testing,immediate hospitalisation and treatment).

“The Centre has a pertinent point as resources are scarce,” Walia said. “We will check the viral load in the community and take necessary action — no patient in Delhi and NCR will face difficulty in accessing treatment.”

4 private labs get OK
The NICD on Friday certified four private laboratories in the Capital to test H1N1 influenza. The labs will start testing samples from Saturday.

The labs — Super Religare Laboratories,Dr Lal’s Path Lab,Auroprobe,and Dang’s — have been selected and a small number of samples have already been sent to them,NICD director Dr Shivlal said.

The Capital now has seven laboratories to conduct H1N1 tests.Earlier,a six-member team of doctors from NICD visited and inspected facilities available in the centres. After the checks,the four laboratories were identified and fresh samples sent to them. “As of now,the government is paying these labs for testing the samples,” Dr Shivlal said.