Swine Flu scare: No handshake please!

HYDERABAD: The swine flu virus is putting the most familiar gesture of greeting people with a handshake at risk. With swine flu and viral fevers turning into serious health hazards, the Telangana government has decided to create awareness among people in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the state by doing away with handshake and instead greet one another with a 'Namaste'.

The Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) of Telangana issued a circular to all municipal commissioners in the state on Wednesday night to spread the message among the people to greet each other with 'namaste,' 'salaam' or any other gesture as handshakes are known to spread germs and viruses.

To avoid spreading of diseases, Telangana CDMA issued instructions to all the municipal commissioners to spread the message 'Namaste Muddu-Handshake Vaddu', apart from undertaking a special sanitation drive and a campaign on personal hygiene in their respective municipalities and towns.

Now, the traditional Indian 'namaste' seems to be the choice of customary greeting to maintain hand hygiene, after taking a cue from an international study that held western style 'handshakes' responsible for transmitting diseases.

The gesture of 'namaste', practiced for centuries throughout South Asia, has become increasingly prevalent throughout the world.

Swine flu and other viral infections are spread in different ways such as by direct transmission (when an infected person sneezes directly into the nose or mouth of another person); airborne route (when someone inhales the aerosols produced by an infected person coughing, sneezing or spitting) or from direct personal contact such as a handshake.

Shaking the hand of someone infected by the swine flu virus, persons risk infection each time inadvertently as they reach up and touch faces.

Director of Health Shunted Out

The State government shunted out director of Health P Sambasiva Rao on Thursday, a day after chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao flew into a rage at the laxity of the health department officials and the functioning of Health minister T Rajaiah in preventing the spread of swine flu.

The government issued a GO appointing IAS officer Jyothi Buddha Prakash as incharge director of Health. Buddha Prakash was recently posted as Director, Family Welfare and also has full additional charge as CEO of Arogyasri.