Chittoor District Medical and Health Officer K. Koteswari said steps will be mooted to set up a screening center at Tirupati, with the coordination of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in view of the prevailing swine flu threat across the state.
Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. Koteswari said that the the fact that thousands of pilgrims converge on Tirupati and Tirumala from across the globe was a matter of concern. The official said that the TTD medical and health authorities would be consulted in this regard. "The exercise requires large number of manpower, including medical and paramedical staff. We are contemplating to set up the screening center at Alipiri, foot of Tirumala hills," she said.
Once the screening center is set up, the medical officers would initiate steps to isolate the suspected cases of swine flu, besides issuing general guidelines to pilgrims found with symptoms of cough and cold.
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Meanwhile, Dr. Koteswari said that at present the DMHO office had 400 capsules of Timiflu. "Each case of confirmed swine flu case requires 110 capsules, including 10 for patient and 100 for the close contacts under the yardstick. But, the Government is ready to supply any number of capsules based on requirement. We are going to intensify awareness camps all over district on the steps to be taken for prevention of the swine flu spread," the DMHO said.
Referring to the creation of swine flu ward at a focal point at General Hospital in Chittoor, Dr. Koteswari said that steps would be taken to shift the ward to an isolated corner.