Pune takes lead in H1N1 treatment

Mumbai: Even as Pune has achieved a dubious distinction of recording the largest number of swine flu deaths since August 3, 2009, the action plan drafted by the authorities to tackle the disease has been accepted as model plan not only in Maharashtra, but across the country.
    “Since August 3, 116 persons suffering from swine flu, have died. But we have learnt
lessons from the past. The swine flu treatment protocol drafted by us has been accepted as a model plan. All the states where cases of swine flu were reported have approached us on the steps to be taken to tackle the disease,’’ Chandrakant Dalvi, Pune collector, told TOI.
    As per public health department records, between August 3 and December 3, 15.45 lakh persons were screened for swine flu in the state. Of these, 4,674 tested positive and 228 died. “With the onset of winter, the number of swine flu cases is expected to rise. We are prepared to tackle the disease,’’ D K Dakhure, director of health services, said.
    “Initially, there was panic. But, we were able to tackle the situation. Even if there was an increase in the number of cases, casualties came down,’’ Dalvi said.
    On the standard treatment procedure drafted by the Pune health administration, Dalvi said at the screening centres, the patients were divided into three categories—those who could be treated in a routine manner and sent home the same day, those who required hospitalization and those who needed to be admitted to intensive care unit. The patients in the second and third categories were administered Tamiflu tablets. Also, their samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology. If the samples were positive, the patients were either isolated at home or admitted in the special hospital.
    Dalvi said for confirmed swine flu cases, paramedical staff visited their homes the same day and traced those who might have come in contact with them in the last seven days. The latter were given a course of chemoprophylaxis.