The capital on Tuesday reported 26 new cases of swine flu, taking the total this year to 285, a health official said. He added that of the 77 persons tested on Tuesday, the results of 26 were found positive.
While the State government has maintained that there is no cause for panic, “prevention of swine flu mainly involves implementation of respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette and hand hygiene,” said Indian Medical Association (IMA) honorary secretary-general K. K. Aggarwal.
Respiratory hygiene involves maintaining a distance of at least three feet from the person who is coughing and sneezing. Cough etiquette involves covering the mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and dispose of the used tissue in a waste basket. If one does not have a tissue, then one should cough and sneeze into the upper sleeve, and not hand or handkerchief.
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Frequent hand hygiene should be observed before and after every patient contact; contact with potential infectious material, and before putting on and after taking of personal protective equipment including gloves. Hand hygiene can be performed by washing with soap and water or by using alcohol-based hand rubs. If hands are visibly soiled, then they should be washed with soap and water, noted a release issued by IMA.
“Flu is diagnosed when a person suffers from cough and cold. Only sore throat is not a sign of flu. Flu patients do not require antibiotics. Unless cough and cold is associated with breathlessness, it does not require admission,” he added.