Our Correspondent
Kohima | August 20
In the wake of the outbreak of H1N1 in the country, the state’s medical department once again expressed the need for Nagaland state to be on guard to combat the pandemic. Health & Family Welfare Director Dr. TL Nakhro said sensitive areas like airports, railway stations and bus terminal should be strongly monitored. Speaking at the capacity building for pandemic preparedness and response workshop here today at the Red Cross Conference Hall, Dr. Nakhro said the state should be on guard to combat the pandemic. He also viewed that preparation of action plans is required from the respective district medical teams to tackle the situation.
He said panic should not be created among the public while creating awareness to the people on the pandemic. Urging the medical team to maintain team spirit, he asked the CMOs and MS to conduct coordination meetings with their teams and discuss on creating awareness H1N1. Dr. Nakhro informed that district hospitals have already kept a separate room for monitoring in case of any suspected cases. The director also opined that the Medical department and Education department must collaborate on seminar and awareness programmes in the educational institutions.
Meanwhile Delhi reported its first two swine flu fatalities, where two persons died, while seven more deaths were reported in Karnataka, Gujarat and Pune on Thursday as the nationwide toll from the deadly virus reached 43.
Seven more samples sent; earlier sample result awaited
A situation that is calling out loud and clear that the state government cannot afford to remain tepid, seven more blood samples for H1N1 (“swine flu”) tests have been collected from Dimapur. The samples have been collected from Dimapur Civil Hospital and sent to the Regional Medical Research Centre at Diburgarh in Assam. Also, the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) is monitoring the H1N1 flu situation in Nagaland and is waiting for results of one of the two blood samples sent to the National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) in Delhi for tests.
Another sample was taken late in the evening from Dimapur Civil Hospital, taking the number of samples taken during the last twenty four hours to eight. But it has been fourteen days since the first two blood samples were sent to NIDC and there is no information regarding the results of one of samples. The first received sample has been confirmed as negative. The result of the other sample is yet to be declared and a worried state still awaits it.
“When we call them up (the NIDC), they always say that it is under process…I don’t know whether they have misplaced it or…but its taking too long,” State Nodal Officer of IDSP Dr Kevichusa Medikhru said over phone this evening. It was informed that another seven samples have been sent to RMRC in Dibrugarh for H1N1 tests. Dr Medikhru said the results from Dibrugarh are expected latest by Tuesday as it would take another forty eight hours for the tests to be completed.
Dimapur Medical Superintendent Dr A Sukhato this evening also informed that another blood sample is about to be taken from a patient who requested the hospital to take his blood for tests for the H1N1 virus. Saying that one of the results from the NIDC is still awaited, Dr Sukhato however said there are no confirmed cases so far “by the grace of God.” It is learned that the IDSP has been directed to send the blood samples to the RMRC in Dibrugarh, instead of the NIDC in Delhi.
