Gujarat health dept on swine flu alert

In the wake of swine flu cases coming to light in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, the state government has put the health department on an alert.

Health minister Jaynarayan Vyas said that cases of Influenza H1N1 virus - commonly known as swine flu - had been registered in the two neighbouring states.

“We have reviewed the situation, and based on our past experience, precautionary steps have been initiated to stop the virus from spreading. Necessary instructions have been issued to medical and paramedical staffs connected with health services,” he said.

The common symptoms of the virus are fever, throat pain, cold, cough, body ache and difficulty in breathing. Officials have appealed to the citizens to get immediate treatment in case they notice any of these. The government said it has asked the civil hospitals, medical colleges and district health administrations to keep a close eye on the situation, and to report any suspected cases of swine flu to the state epidemic unit. Directions have also been issued to categorise the potential patients in A, B and C categories.

“The required medicines, PPE Kit, N 95 Mask, and other materials are available at the state and district levels. If further need arises, the patient welfare committees have been asked to make purchases at local level,” said officials.

Officials said that laboratory services were available at BJ Medical College, Ahmedabad, Government Medical College in Surat, and PDU Medical in Rajkot for quick diagnosis of patients.