Since January this year, Goa’s Department of Health Services (DHS) sent 67 samples to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in New Delhi for H1N1 testing. Of the 67 samples, 12 tested positive, of which 10 have recovered and one is currently under treatment. There was one death. The 45 year old patient from South Goa died early last month after having travelled to Hong Kong a couple of weeks prior.
Unlike the rest of the country that have seen hundreds of persons infected with H1N1, with the latest figure totalling 1,200 succumbing to the virus, DHS officials say they are in a position to control the situation.
Last week four new reports emerged as having been tested for the virus, three of whom were already treated for the disease and the immediate family was put under observation as soon as news emerged.
“The entire course of the drug Oseltamivir was administered to the patients well before the reports were received. Based on the symptoms and severity, doctors took stock of the matter immediately,” said Dr Utkarsh Betodkar, state epidemiologist. The patient currently receiving treatment at Goa Medical College is in fact a case transferred from Karnataka’s district of Sindhdurg.
Dr Bedtodkar insists the need for testing everyone with a symptom is unnecessary and only those suspected of having the virus will be prescribed the required dosage by the doctor.
“Mild to moderate cases are usually treated by the doctor and it’s only in the event of a serious case that a sample is sent to the NCDC for testing. In most cases, the patient is advised to rest and recover at home,” he says.
The influenza virus, as it is most popularly called, has in the past seen the H2N2 and H3N2 strains cause widespread pandemics with the 1968 Hong Kong Flu killing 700,000 people. The most notable Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic of recent times was of 2009 when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” under the rules of the International Health Regulations.
Divided into three categories, swine flu patients belonging to Category A suffer mild fever and cough or sore throat with or without a body ache, headache, diarrhoea and vomiting. While these patients do not require Oseltamivir, they do need to be confined at home and avoid mixing with the public and high risk members of the family.
Category B patients that suffer from the same symptoms as that of A but with high grade fever and sore throat or belonging to high risk conditions (including children less than 5 years, pregnant women, persons older than 65 years and patients with lung, heart, liver and kidney diseases, blood disorders, diabetes, neurological disorders, cancer and HIV and patients on long term cortisone therapy) need treatment with the drug.
Patients suffering from symptoms of Category A and B in addition to breathlessness, chest pain, drowsiness, fall in blood pressure, sputum mixed with blood, bluish discoloration of nails, irritability among small children, refusal to accept feed and worsening of underlying chronic conditions come under Category C requiring testing, immediate hospitalization and treatment including Oseltamivir.
Review Bureau
