Government health officials have been trying to reassure people that there are plenty of drugs available to combat the latest H1N1 swine flu outbreak that has spread across the country. There is “no shortage of drugs or any other logistics,” and the government is “closely monitoring the situation,” the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement added: “The situation in terms of availability of drugs, testing kits, diagnostic labs, personal protective equipment (PPE), masks etc., is being continuously reviewed through video conferencing and telephonic means,” Time Magazine reported last week on the shortage of supplies and Tamiflu in some hospitals, saying some hospitals have turned patients away, leaving the availability of medications in question,
With the death toll over 800 and the swine flu continuing its relentless spread, the National Crisis Management Committee held an emergency meeting Friday to review the outbreak. The committee ordered drug suppliers to make sure flu medication were available throughout the country at the retail level. A cap on the amount a patient can be charged to be tested for the swine flu was also ordered. And Indian states were asked to set up hot lines for information on the swine flu virus.
Confusion and little knowledge of H1N1 is a problem
One of the biggest problems facing health officials is the lack of knowledge regarding the swine flu, its symptoms, how its spread and what preventive measures should be taken. This is the reason for the hot lines and government bulletins on television, to educate. The education initiative took a hit on Friday when Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of Bengal, in a press conference said the disease “mostly happens from mosquito bites.”
This latest outbreak started in the middle of December, 2014. At that time, doctors and health officials told the media there was little reason to worry with only 32 known cases. Dr Romel Tickoo, senior consultant in internal medicine at Max hospital, Saket, said there was little chance of the cases they have seen turning into an epidemic, pointing out, “The viral infection was at its most virulent form when it initially spread in 2009.”
