Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
Variants of H1N1 emerge as new threat
Prabal Kr Das
GUWAHATI, Jan 9 ? A day after the second person died in Assam after being infected by influenza A (H1N1), the situation in the State has raised difficult questions. The virus, according to experts, has mutated with some strains evidently more dangerous than others. There is a need that both patients and doctors were made aware of this fact and preventive action taken.
According to a senior doctor, the variants as witnessed in parts of North India and Gujarat are more virulent and have emerged as a real threat. The last victim who died in GMCH was most likely affected by that strain, he pointed out.
While district hospitals have been provided with some information, equipment and medicines, it has now emerged that many clinics and small nursing homes in the private sector continue to be outside the protective umbrella of the health department. Consequently, not just patients, doctors, nurses and support staff in such facilities also face high risk of exposure.
Away from cities, awareness about the disease has not vastly increased, and doctors believe that a specific campaign should target areas which experience inflow of people from outside. They favour schoolchildren as captive audience in the campaign as young children are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Enquiries further revealed that many hotels and guest houses have stayed outside the ambit of the screening mechanism, and the majority of those have not cared to record and report the health status of visitors even though some have come in from high-incidence areas.
Stating that screening of incoming travellers to Assam is a matter of serious concern, doctors are in favour of health checks at all major transport hubs like airports and railway stations.
The few hospitals dealing with proven cases of influenza A (H1N1), however, present a different picture with the health department providing equipment, infrastructure and trained personnel.
Plans are already on to make the Guwahati Medical College Hospital a major centre to lodge and treat infected persons with four beds being made ready with ventillator support apart from some other beds in its isolation ward. Around two dozen doctors, nurses and support staff have been kept ready to treat cases, sources said.
Today, a meeting took place at the hospital in which State Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma discussed the prevailing situation and asked doctors to be prepared to tackle any eventuality. He asserted that there would be no dearth of resources to combat the disease in the state.
Meanwhile, doctors reiterate the need for people to be cautious if the spread of influenza A (H1N1) is to be curbed. Simple steps such as avoiding crowded places, regular hand washing with soap, using handkerchiefs while sneezing, and strict home isolation of patients, all have a role in limiting transmission.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jan1010/at010
Ro's note: We've seen this speculation about mutations before in Pune and Andhra Pradesh, but I have not come across any specific genetic evidence yet.
Prabal Kr Das
GUWAHATI, Jan 9 ? A day after the second person died in Assam after being infected by influenza A (H1N1), the situation in the State has raised difficult questions. The virus, according to experts, has mutated with some strains evidently more dangerous than others. There is a need that both patients and doctors were made aware of this fact and preventive action taken.
According to a senior doctor, the variants as witnessed in parts of North India and Gujarat are more virulent and have emerged as a real threat. The last victim who died in GMCH was most likely affected by that strain, he pointed out.
While district hospitals have been provided with some information, equipment and medicines, it has now emerged that many clinics and small nursing homes in the private sector continue to be outside the protective umbrella of the health department. Consequently, not just patients, doctors, nurses and support staff in such facilities also face high risk of exposure.
Away from cities, awareness about the disease has not vastly increased, and doctors believe that a specific campaign should target areas which experience inflow of people from outside. They favour schoolchildren as captive audience in the campaign as young children are particularly vulnerable to the disease.
Enquiries further revealed that many hotels and guest houses have stayed outside the ambit of the screening mechanism, and the majority of those have not cared to record and report the health status of visitors even though some have come in from high-incidence areas.
Stating that screening of incoming travellers to Assam is a matter of serious concern, doctors are in favour of health checks at all major transport hubs like airports and railway stations.
The few hospitals dealing with proven cases of influenza A (H1N1), however, present a different picture with the health department providing equipment, infrastructure and trained personnel.
Plans are already on to make the Guwahati Medical College Hospital a major centre to lodge and treat infected persons with four beds being made ready with ventillator support apart from some other beds in its isolation ward. Around two dozen doctors, nurses and support staff have been kept ready to treat cases, sources said.
Today, a meeting took place at the hospital in which State Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma discussed the prevailing situation and asked doctors to be prepared to tackle any eventuality. He asserted that there would be no dearth of resources to combat the disease in the state.
Meanwhile, doctors reiterate the need for people to be cautious if the spread of influenza A (H1N1) is to be curbed. Simple steps such as avoiding crowded places, regular hand washing with soap, using handkerchiefs while sneezing, and strict home isolation of patients, all have a role in limiting transmission.
http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=jan1010/at010
Ro's note: We've seen this speculation about mutations before in Pune and Andhra Pradesh, but I have not come across any specific genetic evidence yet.