Joint efforts to tackle H1N1 in district

District administration along with private hospitals work together

This decision was taken at a meeting held with the office bearers of the private hospitals in the city on Wednesday which was presided over by Deputy Commissioner N Prabhakar.

Prabhakar said that 20 private hospitals have been identified to diagnose and treat patients infected with H1N1 virus. Facilities will be provided by the government, the DC stated.

He instructed the office bearers of the private hospitals to send the throat and nose swab collected from the patients through the surveillance officer. A committee has also been formed at the taluk-level, he said seeking the cooperation from both government and private hospitals to tackle the pandemic.

Already pamphlets have been printed in an attempt to create awareness among the public.

Precautionary measures

Those who show symptoms should wear masks and everybody should pay attention to cleanliness, he said. Those who show symptoms should get themselves checked for the pandemic, he said and asked the public to call toll-free number 1056 for more details on the disease and how to take steps to prevent it from spreading.

Dr Borappa, medical officer of R L Jalappa Hospital requested the government to provide assistance to the poor for treating snake bite, dengue and others.

Surveillance Officer Dr Narayanaswamy said that there has been information that a person from Kurugal village has succumbed to the H1N1 pandemic in Bangalore.

The Union Government’s health and family welfare Ministry pandemic diseases national organisation has sent guidelines to check the deadly disease.

Those suffering from cough, fever, headache, throat pain, muscle cramps, diarrhoea, vomiting will be categorised as belonging to Category A. The infected persons should confine themselves to home and stop appearing in public and take suitable measures to check the spread of the disease, the officer added.

Immediate attention

Children, pregnant women, persons aged above 65, those suffering from breathing difficulty, kidney related problems, blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, HIV/AIDS are vulnerable to the disease and should take preventive measures and if they are found suffering from the above symptoms, the treatment could be started straight away without tests, he said.

 Chinmaya hospital at the Bangarpet taluk has ventilator facility, said the officer of the hospital. In-charge district health and family welfare officer Dr Prakash, district surgeon Dr Srinivas and others were also present at the meeting.