New H1N1 alert

Rise in swine flu cases in June makes Collector sound fresh warning

Au00a0fresh swine flu alert has been issued by District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi after discussing the escalation in H1N1 cases in a meeting with senior state health department officials and representatives of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.

Appeal to people
Dalvi appealed to people to report for testing without loss of time if they showed symptoms of swine flu, saying H1N1 cases had shot up in June and the number was expected to increase in the days to come.

"People should maintain proper hygiene and should be watchful as they were last season, as cases of swine flu are on the rise again," said Dalvi. "There are 206 testing centres in the district. Any unexplained symptoms like cough, cold, fever and chills for more than three days should be immediately reported."

The District Collector also asked doctors to use the injectable vaccine by Cadila, available free at government centres.

The foremost cause of concern is the spread of swine flu among school and college students.

"The number of H1N1 positive cases among school and college students has shot up almost three-fold. Parents should be vigilant and should not take the threat lightly," warned Dr CA Kante, nodal officer for state's swine flu control room.

Bandh delays vaccine
The Bharat bandh called by opposition parties yesterday may have delayed the preventive H1N1 vaccine from entering the market.

"We had received intimation that Serum Institute's vaccine Nasovac, which is suitable for anyone over 3 years of age, would be introduced on July 5. However, the vaccine has not arrived yet. It might have been delayed because of the Bharat bandh," said Dnyaneshwar Narhare, president of Chemist Association of Poona District.

Currently, the vaccine against H1N1 manufactured by Cadila that is available in the market is suitable only for people over 16 years of age.