Swine flu wave intensifies,state to rope in pvt docs

“The government has decided to rope in the Indian Medical Association (IMA) so that private practitioners are given training to tackle swine flu. Some four to five hundred doctors will be trained in a workshop to be held on December 17,” said Dr R R Bharti,DG,Health.

CMOs of all districts,representative doctors of IMA as well as experts from SGPGI and CSMMU will participate in the workshop.

Training for eight batches of government doctors have already been scheduled to be completed by January.

In the last one week,the total number of swine flu cases in the state has shot up from 300 to 486. In the last one month,the state has also reported six swine flu-related deaths,two from Lucknow,and one each from Rae Bareli,Saharanpur,Pilibhit and Ghaziabad.

“Around a hundred cases from Gautambudhnagar were reported this month. These reports,from August onwards,were sent in bulk which shows the sudden rise in total number of cases,” said Dr Bharti,while adding: “We have demanded an explanation from the Chief Medical Officer,Noida,as to why the cases were not reported as soon as they came up.”

Since December 1,more than 40 cases have been reported in Lucknow alone. The total number of those testing positive in the state is 486 with 262 being reported from Lucknow,148 from Gautambudh Nagar,38 from Ghaziabad,9 from Kanpur,3 each from Allahabad and Jhansi and two or less from 15 other districts.

The Centre has also warned the states about the rise in Influenza A H1N1 in winters and has approved the sale of Tami flu in the retail drug shops with Schedule X licence. The five ‘Schedule X’ retail drug shops in the state are in Kanpur,Bareili,Mathura,Meerut and Gautambuddh Nagar each,while no drug store in Lucknow has the required licence.

The Health department has also provided 1,000 Tami flu tablets for each district headquarter and 10,000 Tami flu units for each divisional headquarter in the state. As many as 25,000 Tami flu tablets

will also be given to Allahabad,Agra,Jhansi and Kanpur division.

DG Health will also hold a meeting with medical officers of Kanpur,Allahabad,Jhansi,Gorakhpur and Agra division between December 13 and 15 to ensure proper facilities to tackle swine flu in these districts.

The state government is also ready to place a demand of vaccine for swine flu,which the Centre is expected to import by the end of the month or early next month.

“We are assessing our requirements for the purpose,” said Dr Bharti.