Swine Flu: Authorities issue advisory ‘No need to panic’: Director Health

Srinagar, Feb 14, KMW: After Kashmir valley, various patients in Leh Division have been tested positive for the Swine flu virus (H1N1) while reports said that due to lack of drugs and medical facility doctors have been refering Swine flu patients to outside hospitals.

Director Health Services Kashmir Dr Salim-ur-Rehman admitted that three cases of Swine flu have been reported from Leh Division but added that all the patients are healthy. He told news agency that Swine flu is not lethal and a threat in Kashmir as here, its impact is very least.
“As a precautionary measure and to make people aware about the influenza, we have already sounded a Swine Flu alert in Kashmir,” he said.
“We want to create general awareness to prevent spread of the virus. This is the reason why we have been issuing the advisory through social media and other medium,” Director Health Services said.
He said the common symptoms of the disease were high fever, running nose, sore throat and cough.
“Prevention is always better,” he said. “People must wash their hands often, avoid congested places. The patients with proven H1N1 infection must not cough or sneeze directly. They must use a tissue paper while they do so. Infected people should also not attend social functions and family members of the infected people must be constantly watched for H1N1 virus by carrying out tests on them.”
A doctor at SKIMS said on condition of anonymity that few patients were test positive for H1N1 but they recovered after effective treatment. “ H1N1 is highly contagious, allowing it to spread quickly from person to person. A simple sneeze may cause thousands of germs to spread through the air. The virus can linger on tables and surface areas like door knobs, waiting to be picked up. The swine flu causes many symptoms similar to regular influenza. Diagnosis can be made by testing a swab of mucus from the nose or throat. For those who have swine flu, the oral drug Tamiflu is recommended,” he said adding that in Kashmir the presence of swine flu virus is rare.
Pertinently, in 2008-2009, J&K reported more than 50 cases of H1N1 virus which tested positive for the disease. That time, authorities claimed the virus was carried by people coming from outside or the locals who returned back from outside.