Know your flu dos and don'ts

Directorate of health services has decided to hand out leaflets containing warnings about the Swine Flu to the public

With the number of confirmed Swine Flu cases topping 1,000 yesterday, the directorate of health services, in collaboration with other organisations has decided to hand out leaflets containing dos and don'ts related to the disease to the public.
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These will include basic information about proper cough etiquette and hygiene procedures to ensure that the threat of human-to-human transmissions is minimised.

Dr D S Dakhure, director general of Maharashtra Health Services who attended a national level meeting last morning in Delhi, said, "We plan to distribute leaflets at airports, port areas and hospitals to spread awareness about precautionary measures against the H1N1 influenza A," he said, adding that the leaflets will be ready in two days.

At present, 17 samples from across the nation have been sent for testing to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, which is acting as the central testing centre.

Of these the only sample from Maharashtra is that of a 57-year-old Worli resident who returned from Mexico last week.

But Dakhure ruled out the possibility of him testing positive for swine flu and said the Mumbaikar was being testing as a cautionary measure. The other samples have come from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, at the Pune centre, stringent checks are now being undertaken to ensure that highest standards are maintained during swine flu tests.
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"We are not even allowing food to be brought into the labs. The team for influenza testing has been increased to around 20 and all necessary precautions are being taken," said Dr A C Mishra, centre director.
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He refused to disclose whether the samples had tested negative or otherwise.

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