Indian Express 27.11.2009
Civic chief convenes doctors’ meeting
While the H1N1 deaths have dipped in the city, the weather conditions are now conducive for influenza like illness.
Pune Municipal Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade will meet doctors on December 5 to discuss the issue. There have been 110 deaths in Pune district and 220 in Maharashtra, says Dr Pradeep Awate, in charge of the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project (IDSP).
According to the health authorities, a total of 7.41 lakh persons have been screened for the swine flu in the district and a total of 44,400 people have been given tamiflu.
Dr R R Pardeshi, chief medical officer of health at PMC said fourteen ward medical officers are interacting with private practitioners in their areas and encouraging them to identify and refer cases with swine flu like symptoms to their screening centres.
Dr Dilip Sarda, chief of the city unit of IMA said due to the spread of the virus, people have now adopted a casual attitude to swine flu.
Dr Rajesh Gadia, private practitioner too admits that he was aghast when parents of a child with swine flu like symptoms too were coughing at the clinic without any protection like a face mask.
While closure of schools have not been recommended, Pardeshi says that a meeting of private and PMC run school teachers will be held next week. The reason for these measures is to ensure that any child or patient with swine flu symptoms should be treated as early as possible. On Wednesday, the health department identified 17 cases of swine flu and several students in schools.
Dr Arun Jamkar, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital and B J Medical College said they are presently training state medical officers.
