Likely to be the highest number in Guj in one day; includes a 4-mnth-old baby boy and a nine-year-old girl from Bhuj.
Eight new positive cases of swine flu have been detected in the state on Wednesday. Of these, four cases are admitted in Ahmedabad hospitals alone.
With the addition of these new cases, the total number has now risen up to 350. It is worth mentioning here that only a few months back the World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned about chances of the influenza bacteria spreading further during the winters.
Meanwhile, the remaining cases have been detected in Vadodara, Rajkot, Palanpur and Bhuj, with their age group falling between four and 45 years. Apart from this a four-month-old boy has been admitted in Bhuj general hospital for swine flu. However, with no death reported from anywhere in the state today, the toll is steady at 48, informed state health department.
In the past two weeks there has been a spurt in the number of positive cases and even in deaths from the disease, in the state. According to medical experts, this is an alarming situation that needs to be controlled before the situation goes out of hand. Talking to DNA, principal secretary (health) for the state, Rajesh Kishore said, "The cases are not seen in just one area and it is difficult to trace unless the patients are not sensitive enough of get themselves screened. Later, only when situation gets worse they approach for medical aid, during which a lot of time is already wasted. There has to be an attitudinal change," he said.
When asked about the awareness levels among doctors, Kishore said that though individual education of the doctors is very difficult, the state health department is in talks with medical associations to educate medicos at different levels. Sometimes local medical practitioners mistake swine flu case as general viral infection or pneumonia and lose on precious treatment time.
President of the Ahmedabad Medical Association president, Dr Jitendra Patel, told DNA, "We are educating medicos in around 20 districts at present. Later, other districts will also be undertaken as part of the continuing campaign. In a week or two, we will also hold a meeting after which we will send our recommendations and suggestions to the health department for safeguarding people from the deadly infection.
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