A resident doctor attached with state-run St George Hospital tested positive for H1N1 infection on Friday. He was admitted to the hospital’s ward No. 5 for treatment of the air-borne infection, escalating the fear of infection spread among health-care workers tending to patients of H1N1 virus. According to hospital sources, the resident doctor, Dr Vijay Jaiswal from medicine department, was treating a few H1N1 infected patients in the out-patient department of the hospital. “There is a provision for triple layered N-95 masks and gloves for doctors and nurses. As per our knowledge, he did use them,” said a medical officer on condition of anonymity. Hospital’s medical superintendent Dr J B Bhavani said, “He is stable and only has fever. We are already taking all precautions for staffers for infection control. There are enough masks and gloves.” According to data from the civic health department, three doctors apart from Jaiswal have so far tested positive for the virus. BMC’s additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Deshmukh, however, confirmed that all the doctors-one from civic-run Sion hospital and two others from private hospital— contracted the virus from outside the hospital. All three are stable and have undergone treatment for the disease. According to infection specialist, Dr Om Srivastava, health-care workers around H1N1-infected patients must maintain hand hygiene by using disinfectants and use masks and gloves at all times. “They must also make sure of not contaminating surfaces with their body secretation as they are in constant contact with infected patients. They must also take care of their own health” Srivastava said. According to Dr Mangala Gomare, vaccination and tamiflu treatment is prescribed for doctors and staffers treating H1N1 positive patients. “Use of personal protective gear is sufficient to save them from infection. But doctors can also catch the virus from outside the hospital,” Gomare warned. This is the first reported infection of a doctor treating H1N1 patients. Health minister Deepak Sawant met private doctors and civic officials on Saturday to take a stock of the situation. The meeting concluded with a decision to intensify the spread of H1N1 infection control. “The minister asked all doctors to treat each suspected case with seriousness and check for H1N1 symptoms and start treatment immediately,” Gomare said. With the sudden change in weather on Saturday, Gomare admitted that controlling the virus would become a challenge. “The temperature drop will further provide a conducive environment for the virus to multiply. Rain is a bad sign in the present scenario,” she said. On Saturday, two more H1N1 deaths were reported from Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital (KDAH). A 50-year-old woman from Andheri west was in Rajasthan till February 20. On her return, she tested positive for the virus and was admitted to Aviva Multispecialty hospital but later transferred to KDAH on February 23. On Friday, she succumbed to acute respiratory distress syndrome in a case of H1N1 infection. The second death was of a 68-year-old senior citizen, also from Andheri West, who was suffering from hypertension, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Kidney Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis. She was admitted to the hospital on February 17, however, she died on Saturday due to multiple-organ failure. According to Dr Tejas, infection specialist, she was on ventilator support and she suffered a septic shock due to the progression of the H1N1 infection. A total of 42 new cases of H1N1 infection were reported by the civic health department on Saturday taking the count of cases to 614. So far, 20 deaths have been reported in the city. The cases have been witnessing a steady rise across the state with the toll now crossing 1,100. tabassum.barnagarwala@expressindia.com
