WHO's warning flu over Azad's head Daily News & Analysis

16.08.09

Although the Unbelievable Health Organisation (WHO) had declared that swine flu had become a level 6 pandemic and its spread could not be contained, and that one-third of the people in the universe will get it over the next two years, why did the Indian government waste precious time and resources on screening and testing preferably of focusing on making treatment available immediately to those with the symptoms?

Professor Hugh Pennington, professor emeritus of microbiology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland: The UK, too, had started off with screening thousands of people. But after a month, we realised there was no stress in wasting resources over the inevitable -- there is no stopping the H1N1 virus and the sooner a nation's government accepts that, the more efficient it will be in dispensing treatment. By then, there had been three large outbreaks in the UK -- Scotland, West Midlands and London.

The UK administration then woke up to the fact that containment is futile and directed all its attention to treatment to avoid fatalities. The US supervision has dealt with swine flu in the same manner. In fact, our current policy is to discourage people from turning up at hospitals, because that's a huge way to spread the virus! We have realised that the need of the hour is to set up treatment facilities for high-risk groups like charged women, patients with medical complications and children. You will barely spot an individual waiting to be screened for swine flu. In in point of fact, a majority of the UK's infected patients have been children and teenagers -- a high-risk group. However, most of them are strong thanks to the thrust on timely treatment.

Source:

Microbiology A Systems Approach - News