City anxious, people rush to get tested

Pune is a three-hour expressway ride away from Mumbai.

The knowledge would probably have added to the anxiety levels in the city on Tuesday, the day after Reeda Shaikh succumbed to swine flu in Pune. Medical practitioners were flooded with panic calls and visits from worried parents and patients even as scores of Mumbaikars queued up at the designated Kasturba Hospital at Chinchpokli, as well as at private hospitals, to test themselves for the dreaded disease.

The anxious also included those who showed no symptoms of any ailment at all. Patients of seasonal flu, meanwhile, were calling in to rule out the worst.

Take the case of researcher and Fort resident Samrat Patil, who had gone to China to watch the solar eclipse. He went to the hospital along with two of his team members and mother Shaila for screening.

“We returned on July 26 and our health conditions were fine as well,” he said. “But, since Monday, I developed some symptoms of nausea and a stomach problem too.” They left relieved after the doctor explained that they were way beyond the incubation period of 3-7 days         

Residents of Cumballa Hill R Pandit, his wife and two daughters approached the Kasturba Hospital early on Tuesday. They had returned from a visit to New Zealand more than a month ago. “But we didn’t want to take chances,” said Pandit. 

“There is a scare in the city and we have been seeing patients since morning,” said Dr Ravi Kadam, deputy superintendent, Kasturba Hospital. “We had quarantined only four on Tuesday.” He added that besides those who have travelled abroad, even those with a travel history to Pune should get screened.   

Spokesperson for Bombay Hospital Dr Ashish Tiwari said that even some VIPs who had recently gone on foreign trips inquired about tests and medicines. “A senior bureaucrat has already been referred to Kasturba Hospital,” he said. The PD Hinduja Hospital at Mahim had about 50 anxious patients asking for tests to rule out swine flu. Dr Khusrav Bhajan, critical care specialist at Hinduja, said, “So far, we have sent 4-5 samples and all have tested negative.”

The panic was understandably worse in Pune. “We have been receiving non-stop calls from patients and their families. Parents are flocking at the clinics and asking for immediate reports on whether their children have H1N1 or not, but unfortunately the lack of guidelines is making it extremely difficult to first diagnose and then give people an assurance,” said Dr Dilip Sarda, president of the Pune chapter of the Indian Medical Association. He said that the fact that tests cannot be done at private hospitals is also causing an alarm. Some common symptoms associated with H1N1 are vomiting, loose motion and breathing problems, but doctors say that the symptoms are seen even in cases of extreme common influenza.

“Till Sunday, we kept on insisting that there is no reason to panic, but we can no longer say that. Phone calls have not stopped and worried parents are flocking at the clinic. Not having a standard protocol is making it extremely difficult for us,” said Dr Nilanjan Banerjee, a city based general physician.