Delhi hospitals gear up as swine flu season arrives

All the major hospitals of the city, however, on Saturday said they had not received any swine flu cases so far.

With temperatures dipping, hospitals across the Capital have begun preparing for treating swine flu patients.

All the major hospitals of the city, however, on Saturday said they had not received any swine flu cases so far.

“Usually, we start getting swine flu cases by this time of the year. However, we have not received a single case yet, which is a good sign, given that dengue and chikungunya affected so many people,” said Dr JC Passi, medical director of Lok Nayak hospital.

The hospital has a dedicated 80-bed ward, which can be used for isolating patients suffering from swine flu in case there is an outbreak.

At Safdarjung hospital, two patients were kept in isolation on suspicion that they had swine flu. “There are a number of seasonal flu cases that mimic the symptoms of swine flu. So, we have to be careful. But, to my knowledge, neither of the two patients have tested positive for swine flu,” said Dr AK Rai, medical superintendant of Safdarjung hospital.

At Baba Saheb Ambedkar hospital, the administration has alerted doctors and staff to the possibility of receiving swine flu cases, demarcated a ward for taking in swine flu patients and taken stock of supplies like masks, personal protective equipment and oseltamivir, an antiviral medication prescribed for swine flu.

Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant of internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo, said: “This is the season for swine flu. There is an increase in the seasonal influenza due to change in temperature. But, unlike the first time that swine flu came to Delhi, now we are prepared and now how to deal with it.”