The H1N1 influenza killed two more people on Wednesday, pushing Gujarat’s toll to 82; with the disease’s second wave striking the party season, the government wants citizens to show personal responsibility while venturing into crowded areas.
The state’s health and family welfare minister, Jaynarayan Vyas, told DNA that the onus to prevent the transmission of the disease lay on the people. They should avoid public places if they have fever, he said.
“This [the second wave of H1N1 infections] was expected in winter,” Vyas said. “The pandemic has reached the six-plus level, which means that there is a high viral load in the atmosphere.”
The statistics show the influenza’s prevalence: 18 new swine flu cases were diagnosed on Wednesday, ratcheting the state’s total to 538. The state’s health and family welfare department is intensifying its mass-communication drive to spread awareness about the disease. The central government is running a similar campaign.
“The virus will remain active during winter and we will have to learn to deal with it,” Vyas said.Medical experts say that the virus will stalk the country for another two to three years. But they say that the risks can be reduced if people take proper precautions.
As for public gatherings, they have evoked conflicting views in the healthcare fraternity.
The medical director of Sterling hospital, Chandramauli Raval, said, “Public gatherings must be avoided as they are the primary multipliers of the virus.” Raval said that the government should make the awareness drive a priority and should run it as aggressively as it did during the first wave.
However, other doctors are wary of restricting public gatherings. The CEO of Apollo hospitals, Dr Praful Pawar, said, “Rather than making public gatherings an issue, hygiene should be the major concern.” He said that people who do not wash their hands regularly are vulnerable to contracting the H1N1 influenza.
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