Swine flu: 71 cases reported in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: With 12 fresh cases of swine flu having been reported within 24 hours, the total number of patients in the state capital has risen to 71. The list of new cases includes an 88-year-old man who is admitted to a hospital.

LUCKNOW : With 12 fresh cases of swine flu having been reported within 24 hours, the total number of patients in the state capital has risen to 71. The list of new cases includes an 88-year-old man who is admitted to a private hospital in Gomti Nagar.

In addition, data from the office of the chief medical officer (CMO) of Lucknow shows that there are 29 patients from other districts undergoing treatment in the city.

At a review meeting, chief secretary Anoop Chandra Pandey directed additional directors at the divisional level, CMOs and chief medical superintendents to implement the new guidelines for checking the menace of swine flu. He also said that the implementation would be strictly monitored.

As part of the new guidelines, the CS ordered officials to expand the facility of lab testing for suspected patients to Prayagraj and Jhansi districts too. So far, the facility was available only in Lucknow, Agra Meerut, Kanpur and Gorakhpur medical colleges.

Pandey also directed officials to ensure that 10-bed isolation wards were made available at every district hospital and the control room at the headquarters was operational 24 hours. He also laid stress on vaccinating the staff treating swine flu patients.

Meanwhile, doctors advised people to avoid crowded places and gestures such as hand-shaking that could easily spread the infection from one person to another. Dr Sandeep Kapoor, director, Healthcity hospital, said, “If one is an identified patient of swine flu, he / she should be kept in isolation for a certain period, as advised by the doctor.”