Helipad but no swine flu test facility at Jhalawar Hosp

Jhalawar Medical College, that is planning to have helipad facility still does not have medical test facility for swine flu. The machine for swine flu test is available in the medical college, but it has not been installed. Strikingly, swine flu has so far claimed two lives with 12 patients detected positive with the H1N1 virus in Jhalawar district since January this year. Currently, the suspected patients for swine flu have to wait for around two to three days for the report as the samples are sent to 81 kilometres away in Central Lab of MBS hospital in Kota.

‘The machine for swine flu test is available in the medical college, but it has not been installed and the samples of the suspected patients have to be sent to Kota for the test, said Dr Yogendra Tiwari, nodal officer, Swine Flu, Jhalawar Medical College. The process for the installation of the swine flu test machine is underway and after a week of its validation following the installation, the swine flu test facility would also be available in Jhalawar, he added.

Two days training to the medical staff regarding use of the swine flu test machine is scheduled on September 4 and 5, while test on the machine is likely to be started during this month.

On an average, at least 25 to 30 samples for swine flu are being received daily from all the four districts and private hospitals of Kota zone, informed Dr Naveen Saxena, in charge, Central Lab at New Medical College in Kota. Two rounds of the test, each with a lot of 12 samples are carried out daily as the testing machine heats up after more than two rounds of the test. 

“The samples for swine flu test of the patients admitted to the hospital and of the pregnant women are carried out with priority and concluded on the same day of collection of samples,” he added.

Amid the rising number of swine flu samples from across the zone, the proposal to outsource the swine flu test is also under consideration, Dr Saxena added. On asking about state health minister Kali Charan Saraf’s directions to make the swine flu test report available within 7 hours, Dr Naveen Saxena said it is possible only through outsourcing. Notably, swine flu test facility is also not available in Bundi and Baran districts of the zone and sample of the tests from these two districts are also sent to Central Lab, Kota. Moreover, at least eleven patients including four females were on Friday tested positive with swine flu taking the total number of swine flu patients in Kota zone to 149 with eleven deaths.