In the wake of 30 swine flu cases being registered, Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital Shimla on January 31 issued an advisory to the people cautioning them against taking Influenza lightly as five people had succumbed to it in the hospital so far.

According to senior Medical Officer of IGMC Dr Jank Raj, the administration has geared up to tackle H1N1 virus after five patients succumbed to it at the hospital. He said a special team led by Dr Ravi Sharma Principal of IGMC and senior medical officers were monitoring the outbreak cases and preventive measures to control the infections among others patients.

Most of the swine flu cases were being detected at IGMC and Tanda Medical College, therefore, special efforts are being taken for early detection and treatment of swine flu patients, keeping them in an isolation wards and quarantine hospitals and deploys trained health staff for the purpose.

The advisory tells the people how to take necessary precautions and visit the hospital if they feel symptoms of influenza, cough and body ache. Most of the patients who have succumbed to the H1N1 are either below five or above 65 years of age. If the patient reaches hospital on time and infection gets detected at an early stage, the treatment is effective, Dr Raj said.

State Communicable Disease Surveillance Officer Dr Sonum Negi told UNI that the virus is spreading quickly due to favorable winter seasonal condition for its infestations. Most of the people contracted diseases during transportation, shaking hands, coming in contact of visiting tourists and foreign visitors etc.

“To prevent the spread of swine flu in the state, we have made preparations in advance at the state and district levels. The quota of  Tamiflu tablets has already been provided at the IGMC and other hospitals. CMO Mandi, Jeevanand Chauhan appealed to the people to avoid exposure to cold-climate conditions.

In case of cough, influenza and body ache, one should visit the government hospital without any delay for medical treatment. The test facility for the detection of swine flu is available only at the IGMC, Shimla, and Tanda medical college, Kangra and Central Research Institute Kasouli.

Dr Negi confirmed that of the 31 samples taken on January 30, twelve were found positive for H1N1 virus thus shooting up the swine flu new cases in this month by 75 out of 247 samples taken. The advisory issued by Mr Negi said that seasonal manifestation of flu need to be remain extra-vigilant and to take possible efforts to control and check seasonal influenza.

He said that necessary preventive measures comprise ensuring early detection, prompt treatment and referral cases in view of worsening the condition of flu related symptoms. During the outdoor visit, the people should wash their hands after returning home and cover mouths and nose while sneezing in the home and public.

The attendants and people suffering from flu should wash their hands and dry them to prevent it from spreading. In all, the state reported nine deaths due to swine flu this year as two patients each died of it in Kangra, Mandi and Una district and one each in Shimla, Bilaspur and Hamirpur.

This state also registered new cases of Dengue, Scrub Typhus and Jaundice this month. Of the 69 samples, six cases were tested positive for Dengue (five cases from Kangra and one Shimla). Of the 287 patients tested for Scrubh Typhus, 16 were found positive which included eight in Bilasur, four in Kangra and two each in Shimla and Chamba districts. As many as 74 cases were tested for Jaundice, while 14 were tested positive for Hepatitis-A and Six for Hep-E, Mr Negi said.