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Adequate stock of medicines available to check Swine Flu: India

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, June 9, IRNA -- India's Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has said that adequate stock of medicines is available to check Swine Flu and there is no need for panic following the outbreak of the disease.

Some 11 cases of Swine Flu have been reported across the country which is negligible compared to 70 in other countries where the disease has broken out, Azad told reporters after a high-level meeting with senior officials in Delhi.

The minister said there were 10 confirmed cases in the country and one in the national capital and added that the government would issue fresh advisories to defer non-essential travel to the countries affected by the disease.

"Lot of arrangements have already been made. Passengers, especially from the US, Mexico, Dubai and Canada are being checked on all the 21 international airports."

But in view of the fact that the disease might acquire larger proportions, he said the government has decided to activate 16 more laboratories to test for the Swine Flu virus in addition to the existing two in Delhi and Pune.

Azad said that special caution has to be taken as the infection has now in one or two cases spread from human to human.

"The Health Ministry already has the labs but they are for testing different diseases. They would be prepared for H1N1 flu also and the lab technicians and doctors would be trained within a week," he said.

The minister said that the government has sent a Rapid Action team to Andhra Pradesh where the first human to human transmission of Swine Flu was reported but added that it was not enough.

New Delhi government has geared up the medical facilities in the capital. G B Pant Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Hindu Rao Hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital are among the medical establishments identified to admit emergency cases.

Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has been identified as nodal center for the treatment of the Swine Flu.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization (WH) has reported 25,288 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection from 73 countries as on June 8, 2009. There have been 139 deaths.

Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 21 international airports. Some 44,489 passengers have been screened on June 9, 2009. Around 23,782 passengers were from affected countries. 223 doctors and 93 paramedics have been deployed to man 76 counters at the above airports. Two suspect cases, one each at Calicut and Delhi have been isolated at the identified health facility.

Swine influenza is known to be caused by influenza A subtypes H1N1,[4] H1N2,[4] H3N1,[5] H3N2,[4] and H2N3. It infects people every year and is found typically in those who have been in contact with pigs, although there have been cases of person-to-person transmission.

Its symptoms include fever, disorientation, stiffness of the joints, vomiting and loss of consciousness leading to death.