Says CEC employee Anurag Kumar Sinha, 25, the first suspected swine flu patient in Delhi. He recollects his harrowing experience of 10 days before he was declared out-of-danger
Says CEC employee Anurag Kumar Sinha, 25, the first suspected swine flu patient in Delhi. He recollects his harrowing experience of 10 days before he was declared out-of-danger
Fluprint
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Out of danger: Anurag Kumar Sinha, the first suspected swine flu patient in Delhi |
April 19: I landed at IGI Airport in Delhi flying in from Texas in the US after a three-month official trip. By that time the swine flu had started spreading in America and I was suffering from cold and cough. Strangely, I was not checked for symptoms of the swine flu at the Delhi airport. The officials at IGI didn't seem to be aware of the flu.
April 19 to April 30: Soon after reaching Delhi, I realised I had fever and all my symptoms were similar to that of swine flu. I immediately went to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) but the doctors there were clueless.
Then I visited private hospitals like Max and Apollo but doctors there too were not able to diagnose my ailment. Finally, a local physician referred me to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, the nodal swine flu centre in Delhi. But doctors at RML sent me back to the airport for check-up. I argued with them but couldn't understand why I was sent to the airport.
I took the Metro on my way to IGI but officials there did not entertain me. They sent me back to RML.
May 1: Finally, I was admitted at RML.
However, during this period my condition had deteriorated and I was scared that I had infected many others with whom I had come in contact with.
I was so frightened; I didn't even inform my parents who stay with me in my rented accommodation at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. I didn't want to create panic.
May 3: After two days of tests and being under observation it was diagnosed that I was not suffering from swine flue. I was discharged from RML.
But what if I had been infected with swine flu?For 10 days I travelled all over Delhi using public transport, I could have infected hundreds.
There should be more centres to check the flu. There are no centres in Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon.
