Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
On death anniversary, vaccine-armed family to pray for Reeda
Anuradha Mascarenhas
Posted: Aug 03, 2010 at 0253 hrs IST
Pune On the death anniversary of Reeda Sheikh, who became the first swine flu victim in the country when she died on August 3 last year, her family will offer special prayers at her residence on Tuesday.
At St Anne?s High School, where she used to study, Reeda will be remembered during the prayers at the morning assembly.
While Reeda did not have a vaccine to protect her from the disease, all the 10 members of her family are now armed to combat H1N1. All of them have taken the vaccine.
The family is also getting ready for the next Mumbai Consumer Forum hearing in the case they filed against two city hospitals, says Reeda?s aunt Ayesha Shaikh. The case will come up for hearing on August 10 at the Mumbai Consumer Forum.
Meanwhile, over 80 swine flu deaths have been registered since April. On Monday, district collector Chandrakant Dalvi called a meeting of health officials to take stock. He said there was no second wave of H1N1 and said they have been regularly meeting health officials to keep a tab on the disease.
However there has been a rise in H1N1 cases. Delayed treatment was among the reason for the deaths being reported. ?There have been over 80 deaths from April this year and now we have called for workshops to train doctors in rural areas, so that they do not delay treatment. Any flu is swine flu should be the motto,? said Dalvi.
He advised people, including the high-risk group of pregnant women and those with kidney ailments and other problems, to take the vaccine.
Pediatricians, when contacted, said more and more people are taking the vaccine. Dr Umesh Vaidya, paediatrician, said that on an average, 20 people take the vaccine every day in his clinic.
The vaccine is a preventive and only time will tell how efficacious it has been, says Dr M S Chadda, Deputy Director of National Institute of Virology.
At the Serum Institute, officials said they had seen a good response to the nasovac vaccine (nasally inhaled) they have developed. While there were mild side effects with flu-like symptoms, only two persons who took the vaccine developed swine flu, they said.
They had taken the vaccine after the virus had already incubated in their body and so it did not help, said Dr M S Chadda, Deputy Director, National Institute of Virology.
Dr Prasad Kulkarni, who is in charge of clinical trials at the Serum Institute, said, ?There was no way of knowing whether the individual had the virus at that point of time. It was likely that he/she already had incubated the virus and did not have flu like symptoms at that point of time. However, by and large, the vaccine has been well tolerated,? he said, adding they had also got the licence from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture an injectable vaccine.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-...vaccinearmed-family-to-pray-for-reeda/655263/
Comment: 1,766 H1N1 fatalities were confirmed in India in the year since Reeda's death.
Anuradha Mascarenhas
Posted: Aug 03, 2010 at 0253 hrs IST
Pune On the death anniversary of Reeda Sheikh, who became the first swine flu victim in the country when she died on August 3 last year, her family will offer special prayers at her residence on Tuesday.
At St Anne?s High School, where she used to study, Reeda will be remembered during the prayers at the morning assembly.
While Reeda did not have a vaccine to protect her from the disease, all the 10 members of her family are now armed to combat H1N1. All of them have taken the vaccine.
The family is also getting ready for the next Mumbai Consumer Forum hearing in the case they filed against two city hospitals, says Reeda?s aunt Ayesha Shaikh. The case will come up for hearing on August 10 at the Mumbai Consumer Forum.
Meanwhile, over 80 swine flu deaths have been registered since April. On Monday, district collector Chandrakant Dalvi called a meeting of health officials to take stock. He said there was no second wave of H1N1 and said they have been regularly meeting health officials to keep a tab on the disease.
However there has been a rise in H1N1 cases. Delayed treatment was among the reason for the deaths being reported. ?There have been over 80 deaths from April this year and now we have called for workshops to train doctors in rural areas, so that they do not delay treatment. Any flu is swine flu should be the motto,? said Dalvi.
He advised people, including the high-risk group of pregnant women and those with kidney ailments and other problems, to take the vaccine.
Pediatricians, when contacted, said more and more people are taking the vaccine. Dr Umesh Vaidya, paediatrician, said that on an average, 20 people take the vaccine every day in his clinic.
The vaccine is a preventive and only time will tell how efficacious it has been, says Dr M S Chadda, Deputy Director of National Institute of Virology.
At the Serum Institute, officials said they had seen a good response to the nasovac vaccine (nasally inhaled) they have developed. While there were mild side effects with flu-like symptoms, only two persons who took the vaccine developed swine flu, they said.
They had taken the vaccine after the virus had already incubated in their body and so it did not help, said Dr M S Chadda, Deputy Director, National Institute of Virology.
Dr Prasad Kulkarni, who is in charge of clinical trials at the Serum Institute, said, ?There was no way of knowing whether the individual had the virus at that point of time. It was likely that he/she already had incubated the virus and did not have flu like symptoms at that point of time. However, by and large, the vaccine has been well tolerated,? he said, adding they had also got the licence from the Drug Controller General of India to manufacture an injectable vaccine.
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-...vaccinearmed-family-to-pray-for-reeda/655263/
Comment: 1,766 H1N1 fatalities were confirmed in India in the year since Reeda's death.