No dearth of medicines to fight swine flu, say govt

A report from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi, has cleared a nurse and her nephew of H1N1 infection. So far, eight positive H1N1 cases have been reported in Gujarat. Worse, the increasing threat of the H1N1 virus has caused panic among people.

President of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Gujarat chapter, Dr MR Kanani said, “About a month back, we had sent a circular containing guidelines related to ‘swine flu’ to all our 19,000 private practitioners across Gujarat.”

“We also sent a copy to the state government and urged them to distribute pamphlets for awareness about swine flu. However, the government refused, saying it will create panic among people,” Kanani said.

The IMA members said the state government needed to be more careful and stringent with the screening procedures at the airport.

State health secretary Ravi Saxena, however, said it was not possible for doctors to check each and every passenger. “Checking every passenger would force a jam. We can check the medical history of the patient and if there is a suspicion, the person can be checked thoroughly,” he said.

On availability of medicines, Saxena said the state had enough medicines and masks to meet requirements.