Coronavirus scare: Even those with seasonal flu flock to private hospitals

Doctors say patients with low immunity and foreign travel history panic; getting 15-50 patients a week

MUMBAI:PEOPLE with seasonal flu are going to private hospitals and clinics and asking to be tested for Covid-19, which is caused by a new strain of coronavirus. However, at present, there are only two government-accredited laboratories where the coronavirus may be diagnosed.

The reported symptoms for covid-19 are similar to those of seasonal flu or influenza. These include fever, cough and shortness of breath. “There is so much panic among people that they are rushing to private clinics to get tested. On a weekly basis, we are getting around 15 cases where people with flu symptoms are seeking to run [tests for coronavirus] in our hospital,” said Dr Om Shrivastav, a city-based epidemiologist.

Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant general physician at Bombay Hospital, confirmed this. “The panic is more among people with diseases related to low immunity and travel history abroad. If we get patients with history of travel to affected countries like China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Italy among others, we are referring them to the government hospital,” said Dr Bhansali.

There are only three government-accredited laboratories – tkasturba Gandhi Hospital in the city, the National Institute of Virology, Pune and Rajiv Gandhi Medical College in Nagpur– that are equipped to do the testing. “Private hospitals don’t have the facilities as it requires a specially-designed laboratory to run gene sequencing analysis. As per the government’s instruction, we are referring the patients to Kasturba Hospital,” said Dr Shrivastav.

Alongside the panic is fear of being quarantined, which has led to only a small percentage of the patients actually visiting Kasturba Hospital. When HT visited Kasturba Hospital on Friday, a senior doctor stated that around five patients come on a weekly basis, seeking tests for coronavirus. “If the person doesn’t have any travel history to the affected countries or states, we are keeping them on telephonic observation for a week,” she said.

Meanwhile, city doctors said reported cases of seasonal influenza have increased by between 15% to 20%. “On a weekly basis, we are getting over 50 patients with minor seasonal influenza. With rising awareness, people have also become cautious,” said Dr Vikrant Shah, infection specialist at Zen Hospital.