After four cases of swine flu that were recorded in the past two days, no fresh case of the condition was reported in the city on Sunday. The Chennai Corporation-run Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Tondiarpet and the King Institute of Preventive Medicine in Guindy did not report any new cases of A (H1N1).
On Sunday, the civic body's Health Department staff conducted a search operation to locate two children aged 10 and 8 whose nasopharyngeal swab, collected earlier by a team from King Institute at Stanley Hospital, tested positive. “The address given in the register is wrong. We tried to locate the address from the mobile number given, butwe reached a dead end. ,” said a CDH source.
A senior Chennai Corporation official said: “As they are children, we are worried about their transmitting the infection to others. Sometimes, patients from outside the city too come to Stanley Hospital. We have now asked the Chennai Corporation's Vigilance Officer to take the help of the police to find the children.” Sources in King Institute said: “Samples are usually picked up from various areas including hospitals and 1,200 such samples were collected over a period of 6 months,” the source said.
On the two patients who were found to have H1N1 earlier, Corporation officials said that they had not developed any complication. “They are at home in quarantine. Preventive measures have been taken and those who visit their homes regularly have been administered drugs.”
According to Bishwarup Pal, in-charge, intensive care unit, Fortis Malar Hospital, persons with high fever, dry cough and severe body ache should consult their doctor. Difficulty in breathing, persistent vomiting and low temperature are symptoms to look for.
