Swine Flu scare spreads among doctors now
HYDERABAD: The very people who are treating Swine Flu patients are a worried lot. A 30-year-old junior doctor at Osmania General Hospital, who was treating a H1N1 patient, himself developed the infection.
And at Gandhi Hospital, some junior doctors apprehensive of the infection approached the duty medical officer (DMO). Swab samples of the junior doctors were sent for testing to validate their anxiety.
Such cases are not limited only to Hyderabad. Two staff nurses in Mahbubnagar were diagnosed with the infection. Apart from them, a health official from the district who was treating the Swine Flu patients experienced symptoms of the flu. All the health personnel from the district were given Swine Flu treatment and their condition is learnt to be stable now.
Now, the health staff at Gandhi Hospital who are exposed to the patients are being identified. 'We will provide vaccination to them,' said Dr P Dhairyawan, superintendent of the hospital. A total of 25 people were detected with Swine Flu so far. Among them, seven were children below age of ten.
A patient from Rajasthan is also learnt to be admitted to a hospital. Other patients are from different parts of the city. Three patients getting treated at Gandhi hospital are under close observation.
Gandhi Hospital, which has become a rescue point for Swine Flu patients, is experiencing shortage of devices and staff nurses, at its Swine Flu isolation ward. Doctors from the hospital, on condition of anonymity, warned of an impending crisis.
'There are only three ventilators in the isolation ward. If more number of patients were to get admitted here, then somebody has to lose life and make space for another patient,' said a doctor.
As of now, 20 H1N1 patients and 25 suspected cases are being treated at the hospital. A doctor called for immediate help from Chest and Fever hospitals to accommodate Swine Flu patients.
News Posted: 20 January, 2015
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