Swine flu finally reaches in Bangalore

Monday, 15 June 2009

Swine flu has been causing a pandemic in many Asian neighbors' home country and also in other parts of India. The last count I heard was that 22 cases of the H1N1 virus has been confirmed in different parts of India. The IT capital of Bangalore has remained untouched for so long. Not anymore, though. This weekend, we had a 29-year-old mother and her three-year-old daughter land in Bengaluru International Airport from New Jersey on Friday. Both were tested positive for the H1N1 virus!! This is the first confirmed case of the deadly virus in Bangalore. The samples of the duo were sent over to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, from Bangalore's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), and the positive results arrived on Saturday. It seems the woman had arrived with her two daughters in Bangalore to spend their summer vacation with family members and relatives. Looks like the screening facility (that has drawn much criticism) at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) is working well. A few days earlier there were reports that BIA had requested for advanced thermal screening devices, but the Government had shelved it citing lack of funds. Later, there were reports about BIA asking for more doctors to man the screening process, but it sanctioned only 50 percent of the number of doctors needed. There is already a lot of flak on the woman and her family as they violated the doctor's recommendation of going directly to the RGICD from the airport. It seems the family went to their house in the city and interacted with other family members before reporting to the hospital in the evening!! How can educated folks act so carelessly? It really irked everyone. During their 12- to 15-hour stay with family members, so many others could have been infected for their inconsiderateness. What is more alarming is that even after confirmation of the swine flu by the doctors, the family were hesitant to leave the duo at the isolation ward of the Government Hospital. The relatives contented that the woman and the girls had come over to enjoy their vacation with them, and shouldn't be stuck in a dingy hospital room. How stupid can they get? I suppose the Government must enact stricter rules and guidelines for infected people! It seems the duo have been administered treatment. The relatives have also been provided prophylactic Tamiflu capsules and advised to stay indoors by the health officials. The health department has already started screening the other passengers who came on the same flight to prevent a possible spread of the swine flu. The health department has also set up a toll-free helpline (1056), which seems to be a good initiative.

 

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