Swine flu: Punjab govt sets up advisory panel
The Punjab government has constituted a state-level advisory committee under the chairmanship of Dr D Behera of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to take stock of the swine flu situation in the state and list out steps for its prevention and control.
The Punjab government has constituted a state-level advisory committee under the chairmanship of Dr D Behera of Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) to take stock of the swine flu situation in the state and list out steps for its prevention and control.
Disclosing this, state health and family welfare minister Surjeet Kumar Jyani said it has also been noticed that some patients who have tested positive for H1N1 are being initially treated by private doctors. Such patients are referred to specialised centres only when their condition deteriorates, said Jyani.
The health minister also issued fresh guidelines to all civil surgeons to take precautionary measures to check the spread of swine flu.
The civil surgeons have been directed that a throat swab sample of a suspected case with severe acute respiratory illness should be immediately collected and sent to an accredited laboratory in viral transport medium, which is being provided free of cost in all the government diagnostic centres.
Reviewing the latest situation of swine flu in the state, Jyani said so far 183 suspected cases have been reported this season. Of these, 57 have been found positive. As many as 26 patients have lost their lives.
A sufficient stock of medicines has been procured and distributed to districts. All medicines have been made available at government medical colleges, district hospitals, and community health centres (CHC) across the state. He also said that isolation wards have been established at government hospital for providing adequate care to the patients.
Doctors of three government medical colleges have been trained in ventilator management at New Delhi to tackle serious cases, said the minister.