Fatalities in Chandigarh, 59 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP, 4 unk.

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 42 total 6 from UT, 17 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 6 Himachal

Swine flu: December sees 38 deaths in Chandigarh

2009-12-27 17:20:00


The dip in the mercury in December has seen a surge in swine flu cases in this union territory, and a high death toll of 38 in the month so far, officials said Sunday.

The H1N1 toll in Chandigarh so far is 48. Fourteen of them died in the last seven days. On Saturday, the maximum deaths of six in a single day were recorded.


'The dip in mercury has made this virus more contagious and people have become more prone to this infection. We have directed all our doctors and other medical staff to remain extra-cautious and keep a close tab on the situation,' H.C. Gera, the nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS.


'We have observed that most of those who succumbed to the disease, approached the hospital in a very advanced stage of infection. We are running a widespread campaign to educate the masses about the do's and don'ts and have told them to immediately approach the nearest hospital if they show any symptoms.'


Last week, the technical committee of the health department had declared the status of swine flu here as 'community spread'. It implied that the infection was not limited to any high-risk group and doctors can prescribe the tamiflu dosage just on the basis of symptoms.


'Presently, we are waiting for the test reports of 15 more patients. There is no need to panic as we have sufficient stocks of medicines and are well-equipped to handle any kind of emergency situation,' Gera said.


So far, over 725 suspected cases of swine flu have been screened in Chandigarh, of which 313 tested positive.


Of the 48 casualties in Chandigarh, 23 were from Punjab, 11 from Haryana, seven from here, six from Himachal Pradesh and one from Uttar Pradesh.


The testing facility at the virology department of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) caters to the needs of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.


In Punjab, 164 patients have tested positive and 30 deaths were reported so far due to swine flu.


In Haryana, over 1,250 positive cases of influenza A virus have been reported in the last few months and of these nearly 600 were from Gurgaon.

http://sify.com/news/Swine-flu-December-sees-38-deaths-in-Chandigarh-news-National-jm1rubhjadi.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 48 total 7 from UT, 23 Punjab, 11 Haryana, 6 Himachal, 1 UP

2 more fall prey to H1N1 virus
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 29
Two more person succumbed to swine flu in the city today, raising the death toll so far to 50. The number of H1N1 patients has also risen to 320, with new cases being reported during the day. Of these, two were from Haryana and one from Punjab.

Two women died this morning at PGI today. ?Harpreet Kaur (29) from Kurushetra and 30 year old Parminder from Patiala died today due to swine flu. Both were tested positive for the virus,? said HC Gera, UT Nodal Officer for swine flu.

The victim who were tested positive for swine flu are 15 year old girl from Nabha, another woman (24) from Ambala and 37 year old person from Jagadhari.

So far, 50 people have died of swine flu in city hospitals, including 7 from Chandigarh, 23 from Punjab and 14 from Haryana and others from the Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Over 320 people have tested positive, including 153 from Chandigarh, 83 from Punjab and 75 from Haryana and 8 from Himachal Pradesh and others from UP.

Meanwhile, the UT health department revealed the name of 10 private doctors who are authorized to give treatment for swine flu. They are from various sectors in city.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091230/cth1.htm#10

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 50 total 7 from UT, 24 Punjab, 12 Haryana, 6 Himachal, 1 UP

Five deaths due to swine flu in Chandigarh, six new cases
IANS 31 December 2009, 01:35pm ISTText Size:|Topics:Chandigarh
PGI
Swine flu deaths

CHANDIGARH: Five more deaths due to the influenza A (H1N1) virus were reported in union territory (UT), taking the toll to 55, officials said Thursday.

"Five deaths were reported in Chandigarh hospitals yesterday (Wednesday) evening. The deceased were identified as Chandigarh resident Rajan Kumar, 52, Ganga Ram, 65, from Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh, Ritu Gulati, 34, from Ambala in Haryana and Lajwanti, 66, and Pooja, 20, both from towns in Punjab," H C Gera, UT nodal officer for swine flu, said.

He added: "Three of these people died at PGIMER (Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) while the other two deaths were reported at the government hospital in Sector 32. We have informed the health officials of other states about these deaths."

Health officials have quarantined five family members of Rajan Kumar, who stayed here in Sector 30.

Six more patients, including a doctor working at PGIMER, tested positive for swine flu. They were two from Chandigarh, three from Punjab and one from Haryana.

So far, over 800 patients have been screened for swine flu infection here, out of which over 325 tested positive.

In the month of December alone, nearly 45 deaths and over 170 positive cases of swine flu have been reported in UT hospitals.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5399099.cms

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 55 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP

Fresh case of swine flu reported in Chandigarh



Chandigarh: After a gap of almost a week, a fresh case of swine flu was reported in the city on Saturday. The male patient is recuperating at a private hospital and is responding to Tamiflu treatment, say doctors. While the sudden decline in the number of cases has come as a relief to the residents of the region, health department officials said: ?The decline may be because of patients taking medicines with prescriptions only, without undergoing the test,? said a senior official.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Girl-dies-of-suspected-swine-flu/568153

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 55 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP

Slow start to H1N1 vaccination programme
Neelam Sharma


Posted: Friday , Mar 19, 2010 at 0236 hrs


Them & US From ABCD to almightyHealth dangers of GM FoodsStand on Bt Brinjal Very few doctors, paramedics take shots on first day
No swine flu cases reported in last two months


The swine flu scare might have died down in the region in the last two months, but the H1N1 virus refuses to leave the city medicos.


Even as the doctors get their lessons on the vaccine Penanza, approved by the Health Ministry, the first day of vaccination at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) Sector 32 generated a rather lukewarm response.


With nearly 2,500 staff members identified by the hospital authorities to get the vaccine dose, only 32 came forward to get the shot of the intra muscular drug on the first day. Of these, 15 were nurses and 17 doctors, including junior and senior resident doctors.


With circulars being issued, sessions and meetings being held and the staff being counselled to go for the vaccine, authorities are rather hopeful that the figures would improve in the next seven days, the time period within which the stock once opened has to be exhausted.

?It is not mandatory for the staff to get vaccinated. We can only counsel them and inform them about the availability of the doses in the hospitals. It?s for them to decide if they want to get vaccinated,? said the Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Vipin Kaushal.


With no fresh cases of swine flu reported in the region and isolation wards at the hospitals having no visitors, lack of enthusiasm of the medical community about the vaccination is clearly visible.


While GMCH got on with its vaccination schedule on Thursday, the other two keys hospitals ? PGI and GMSH, Sector 16 ? have yet to procure their Panenza quota from the local health department, which has received 10,800 doses of the vaccine on Monday.


?Yes, we have received the letter about the arrival of the vaccine. We will get it on Friday and hen accordingly the plan would be chalked out how to go about administering the vaccine among the staff,? said the MS, Dr N K Arora at GMSH.


At PGI, the spokesperson said, ?Arrangements are being made to procure the vaccine.? Even as the officials go through the routine of holding meetings and drawing up schedules for the vaccination programme, a section of doctors feels its an exercise ?too little too late?, especially when there have been no fresh cases of H1N1 for over two months.


?Had the vaccine arrived in January, everyone would have grabbed it and any information about it would have generated a huge response. Now there have been virtually no cases. The staff members are apprehensive. It?s more like a wait and watch approach adopted by many,? remarked a doctor.


FACTOID
* Over 55 deaths and 350 H1N1 positive cases till now. No fresh cases have been reported since the first week of January
* India has purchased 1.5 million doses after conducting a bridging study for its H1N1 vaccine in Delhi and Pune to determine the vaccine?s behaviour among Indians. A bridging study is supplemental research performed in a new region to provide clinical data on efficacy, safety, dosage and dose regimen

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/slow-start-to-h1n1-vaccination-programme/592852/0

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 55 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP

Express News Service
Tags : swineflu, H1N1
Posted: Thu Jul 15 2010, 01:51 hrs
Chandigarh:


Even as swine flu cases have once again begun to surface in Delhi and other parts of the country, authorities here say that suspected cases from the region have begun to be reported at the screening centres in the city in the last few days.
Even though no one has tested positive with the killer virus in the region after January, one or two suspected cases are being reported every week, say authorities. ?Since the intense cold wave in January, even suspected samples were not coming to hospitals for testing. But since the last few weeks, a few suspected cases from adjoining states have been reported, all of which, however, tested negative. We are keeping a watch on the flu situation here,? said an official.

With the PGI testing lab lying defunct for the last several weeks, the local authorities here are sending the samples to Delhi. Sources in the Health department told Newsline that a review meeting is being planned in the coming few days with the health secretary to assess the situation here. Authorities have also said that the situation demands preventive measures even though there is no reason to panic.

?As of now, the situation is under control since we have not received any positive case in the last several months. However, with the virus active in other parts of the country, we plan to discuss if we need to issue a fresh set of guidelines to the residents,? said an official.

The H1N1 virus had struck the city in summer last year with an NRI student testing positive in May. Since then, over 55 people have lost their lives while over 380 patients have tested positive. No positive case has been reported in the last six months, said the UT Health department.

Are we prepared to fighth h1n1?

The only testing lab at the PGI is lying defunct for the last several weeks and the samples are being sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi. The lab at PGI, started to cater to samples of UT, Punjab, Haryana and J-K, has not been testing samples ?due to some technical difficulty?. Also, the 10,000 vaccines sent to the city for injecting the frontline health workers in the hospitals is still to be fully utilised. A majority of the stock is lying unused.

New drug launched

Vaccine manufacturer, Serum Institute, has announced the launch of its indigenously developed intra-nasal vaccine named Nasovac for preventing H1N1 infections. The single dose vaccine is to be sniffed, making it a painless prevention mode, stated the company on Wednesday. The vaccine is approved by the Drug Controller General of India for usage by any individual above the age of three, except pregnant women.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Suspected-swine-flu-cases-surface-every-week-/646675

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 55 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP

New thread for 2010 season here; http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=151070

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Fatalities in Chandigarh, 55 total 8 from UT, 26 Punjab, 13 Haryana, 7 Himachal, 1 UP

Final roundup of 2009 season from http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100815/cth1.htm

59 deaths in 2009

Doctors treating swine flu patients at city hospitals faced a tough time last year with half of the 39 medicos who got the infection from patients from PGI only. Over 800 blood samples of suspected H1N1 patients were taken at the hospitals. 350 people were found to be infected of whom 59 died, eight of whom were city residents.

[tetano]

Re: Chhattisgarh - 1st fatality this wave, total 12.

Technical snag hits H1N1 testing


CHANDIGARH: The spread of swine flu may be continuing unabated, but the city would remain dangerously unaware as the testing facility at PGI has developed a technical snag. UT health officials said due to the glitch, there was no way of differentiating between suspected and confirmed H1N1 cases. The Tricity has seen 45 suspected cases for swine flu and three confirmed ones during this year.

''Due to a technical fault in the testing facility for H1N1 at PGI, we were unable to get any reports on Thursday,'' said UT's nodal officer for swine flu Abha Rana. This comes at a time when Tricity is battling hard to control the spread of swine flu.

The testing centre at PGI's virology department is the only certified centre in the region. Last year, the ministry of health and family welfare had approved the testing service at PGI. Before that, samples used to be sent to National Institute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi, and National Institute of Virology, Pune.

''This took more than required time. The idea was to reduce the waiting period so that lives could be saved,'' a PGI faculty said.

Read more: Technical snag hits H1N1 testing - Chandigarh - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...#ixzz0xoltkv2V