Swine Flu in India

Silverdragon102, BSN · Aug 12, 2009

Moved to the Pandemic Flu forum

indigo girl · Aug 13, 2009

India: All Suspect Cases To Be Given Tamiflu

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2009/08/india-all-suspect-cases-to-be-given.html

Proving that political realities sometimes trump existing policy, India today has decided to begin treating all suspect swine flu cases with antivirals based on clinical observations, and not waiting for a positive test.
Over the past week, India has recorded at least 17 deaths from the virus, including that of a doctor. Schools and cinemas are closed in Pune and now in Mumbai, and people are clearly concerned.
While the WHO today reiterated their advice that healthy people with mild flu symptoms need not be given the antiviral, and that Tamiflu should be reserved for those with severe symptoms or for those at higher risk of complications, some countries are finding that easier said than done.
This report from the Times of India.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/mumbai/Now-all-suspect-cases-to-be-given-Tamiflu/articleshow/4887610.cms

indigo girl · Sep 8, 2009

Chest Hospital shuts doors on non-swine flu cases

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/hyderabad/Chest-Hospital-shuts-doors-on-non-swine-flu-cases/articleshow/4984056.cms

HYDERABAD: With as many as 80-100 patients pouring in a day with suspected swine flu symptoms, the AP General and Chest Hospital has little manpower and machinery to attend to other routine healthcare services. Among the services now closed for `non-swine flu patients' is the Critical Care Unit (CCU), which is being used only for critical H1N1 cases.
However, on an average, the hospital gets at least six critical cases with acute, life-threatening illness or injury and these cases are being referred to Gandhi Hospital or Osmania General Hospital as the CCU beds are being reserved only for swine flu cases.
What is more, of the 36 doctors in the Chest Hospital, 27 are devoting their time to attending to the swine flu unit. The `no-entry' for other patients is being attributed to manpower and space crunch.
The move to cut down on other services is questionable as the footfall in other out-patient wards is around 800 per day.
Officials say that they are in any case witnessing a drop in general out-patients with people avoiding to step into the hospital in view of the swine flu scare. Hospital authorities also admit that the H1N1 influenza is their current focus. They said that other than this, the hospital is not in a position to handle the extra load.
The hospital is the only one in the city doing sleep studies but has now decided to put its Sleep Lab services to bed due to the shortage of manpower.
"We have cut down on our services by 25 per cent because the admission period for other critical cases is comparatively longer. So we are not in a position to admit them. We are referring non swine flu cases to OGH and Gandhi Hospital. The daily swine flu OP cases are between 80 and 100," said Dr S V Prasad, superintendent, AP General & Chest Hospital.
He added that the hospital has a capacity to handle six emergency cases and two more for oxygen therapy. The eight beds are all full with flu cases, he said. Explaining the reason for more cases coming to the hospital, Dr Prasad said that treatment of critical cases costs Rs 20,000 per day in a private hospital and thus people prefer to come here.
The hospital is turning down at least 10 requests a day from private hospitals for admitting acute pneumonia cases.
Dr Prasad said that swine flu has already reached a pandemic proportion and if the situation persists, then the hospital would require further funding and expansion would become essential.

(hat tip flutrackers/treyfish)