In four days, 46 swine flu cases, two deaths 3-day screening finds more than 17,000 sick in Jaipur

RECORD HIGH Health officials on alert in Jaipur; staff asked to go for doortodoor screening JAIPUR:

In just four days from March 1 to 4, a total of 46 people tested positive for swine flu and two died. In March 2016, there were 17 positive cases and five deaths, and in March last year, 39 had tested positive and nine died.

According to the health department, from January 1 to March 4 this year a total of 1134 swine flu positive cases have been reported across the state and the worst affected district is Jaipur with more than 700 positive cases and 30 deaths.

Additional director (rural health) Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur said additional chief secretary, medical and health, Veenu Gupta would hold a video conference on Wednesday with all officials of the department to review seasonal diseases. No of cases registered

Joint directors, chief medical and health officers, principal medical officers, reproductive and child health officers, and block chief medical and health officers will participate in the video conference.

Considering the increasing cases of swine flu and other seasonal diseases in the state, the health department organised a door-to-door health screening and public awareness campaign from February 26 to 28 in 92 wards of Jaipur city and rural areas.

The department is taking all measures to control swine flu and other seasonal diseases, health minister Kali Charan Saraf said. “On finding swine flu symptoms, instead of getting panicked, people should immediately get tested and take treatment,” he said.

Saraf said 3033 hospitals including primary and community health centres and district hospitals have functional screening centres along with 1580 isolation beds, 214 ICU beds and 198 ventilators. He said auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs) and accredited social health activists (ASHAs) have been directed to screen patients by going door to door in affected areas and create awareness about swine flu.

Dengue cases are also on the rise in the state during the first quarter of the year. From January 1 to March 4, a total of 742 cases have been reported across the state. Apart from dengue, 130 cases of malaria and 108 cases of chikungunya have been reported.

Dr Mathur said, “Anti-larvae activities are being done to curb vector-borne diseases.” People are being made aware and asked not to get water accumulated in nearby areas.

The department and local bodies are regularly fogging the affected areas, he added.

Earlier in the day, Governor Kalyan Singh sought a high-level inquiry from state government after a faulty report at a hospital diagnosed him with swine flu.

“After being diagnosed with swine flu at state-run SMS Hospital, a fresh test conducted at Apollo Hospital was negative,” Singh said in a statement here.

A three-day campaign launched by the health department in Jaipur to screen people for various diseases found more than 17,000 people suffering from one or other kind of illness. The campaign, ‘swasthya dal aapke dwar’ (health team at your doorstep), was carried out from February 26 to 28.

It may be mentioned that from January 1 to March 4 this year, Rajasthan reported 1,134 swine flu positive cases and 97 deaths; 742 cases of dengue and one death; 130 cases of malaria, and 108 cases of chikungunya.

The campaign report was submitted Monday.

Additional Director (Rural Health) Dr Ravi Prakash Mathur said that more than 1.69 lakh houses were visited during the campaign. He said screening was done in those areas, where maximum cases of swine flu and other diseases were reported.

The official said that while screening, 17,146 people were found sick suffering from fever, joint pain, influenza like illness symptoms. They were given medicines and advised to go for further diagnosis. Apart from houses, the team also visited 137 hostels and 263 schools.

Dr Mathur said while checking the houses, hostels and school, larvae were found in 3,481 water tanks and 235 coolers. People were made aware on how to keep the surroundings clean and not allow water to accumulate.

Additional chief secretary medical and health Veenu Gupta said such campaigns should be organised in other districts affected by seasonal diseases.

The campaign was organised with the help of district administration and Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC). The entire city was divided into different areas and door-to-door visit was done by the nursing students.

JAIPUR: