Delhi reported 19 more cases of swine flu on Saturday taking the total number of cases this year to 226. While doctors continue to say that there is no need to panic and that all precautions/measures are in place to tackle the situation, the ascending numbers are creating a scare among people .
A senior health official said that 11 District Surveillance Officers (DSOs) have been nominated by the Health Department to check whether standard operating procedures for treatment of swine flu cases are being followed by hospitals. “There are sufficient amount of medicines available for treatment. The 22 designated hospitals are following the standard operating procedures for treatment of swine flu. So far, six persons have died of swine flu in Delhi,’ said a senior health official.
Swine flu spreads in the same way as the seasonal flu and even the symptoms are similar to those of regular flu which includes fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, and fatigue.
“It spreads when infected people cough and then others breathe in the virus. People should avoid touching their nose and mouth after using a public tap. People have to be vigilant and if they feel that they have contracted the virus, they should immediately seek medical help. Infected people can pass the infection to others a day before symptoms develop and up to seven or more days after becoming sick,” said a health expert.
Meanwhile, following the confirmed death of a 35-year-old man, who died of extensive internal bleeding at AIIMS recently, because of Congo contagious fever, the Indian Medical Association has issued a ‘white paper on the disease’.
