Techies rush for flu check
Colleague tests positive for H1N1
Panick-stricken employees of Samsung India Software Operations rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) as a colleague of theirs tested positive for H1N1 virus, on Friday.
A 27-year-old employee, who arrived from Seoul, South Korea, on June 28 attended the office for a day and later developed flu symptoms. He tested positive for H1N1 flu at RGICD. He later informed his manager and colleagues about his health condition and asked them to go through screening. Nearly 90 employees soon thronged the institute for screening.
“It was very difficult to control the crowd. I had to address 90 persons, convincing and educating them about the flu,” said RGICD Director Dr Shashidhar Buggi. The throat swabs of two close contacts of the employee who tested positive, were collected.
Meanwhile, a 27-year-old man who arrived from Bangkok on June 28 has tested positive and is now admitted at the Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital. The Hospital RMO Ravi Raj said a 62-year-old man was discharged as he had completed his quarantine period.
There are a total of nine patients admitted at the RGICD. “We are in the process of finalising measures to accommodate suspected patients at Indiranagar General Hospital and a Government Hospital in Yelahanka in case of increase in the number of cases,” said Dr Usha Vasunkar, Director of Health and Family Services.
No clear update on dengue
The official figure on the number of dengue fever cases still does not tally with the reports from individual hospitals in the City.
The BBMP Health Department said, only 36 cases were tested positive for dengue. But the government hospitals reported more cases.
The State health agencies, however, clarified that the number of cases tested positive for dengue is taken into account only on the basis of reports from the National Institute of Virology located at Victoria Hospital and the Public Health Institute.
Meanwhile, BBMP is conducting an awareness campaign called 'Source reduction' and trying to curb the mosquito menace that leads to such an epidemic.
