Post News Network
Berhampur, Dec 27: All hospitals in the districts bordering Andhra Pradesh have been asked to stay alert in the wake of outbreak of swine flu in the
neighbouring state, chief district
medical officer (CDMO) Dr Niranjan Behera said Saturday.
A letter to this effect has been
received here from state health directorate Saturday, the CDMO added. Even as no case of swine flu has been diagnosed in Ganjam district so far, all should be on alert, the letter said.
Reports said, eight persons have died and over 50 people affected by the disease in Andhra Pradesh so far, while several swine flu cases have been diagnosed in other states, including Kerala, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajsthan. The air-borne disease is likely to spread this year due to the drop in temperature and in the wake of the outbreak in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, experts said.
“The swine flu virus spreads from one person to another through sputum, cough and sneeze. As many patients from border areas of Andhra Pradesh connected to Ganjam district often visit MKCG Medical College and Hospital here, the hospital is vulnerable to the disease,” hospital superintendent Dr Ashok Kumar Behera said. “Though no swine flu case has been reported in the hospital so far, the management is fully geared up to address the issue,” he said.
Areas with substantial population of pigs like Rangeilunda, Chikiti, Sorada, Patrapur blocks and Berhampur
sub-division have been identified as
vulnerable zones. “People have been asked to report all flu cases in such areas to the district veterinary
department,” district veterinary medical officer Dr Trinath Nayak said.
Additional district medical officer Dr Umashankar said medical teams would be sent to the areas where reports of flu are reported en masse. Swine flu cases were reported in the state, including in Ganjam, in 2009 and 2010. Since then, no case has been reported. However, the disease commonly comes back every 5/7 years, experts say.
