09 July,2009 07:51 AM IST | | Navdeep Kaur Marwah and Shilpa Saini
Scared of the social stigma attached to the viral infection, Delhiites are keeping it under wraps. MiD DAY tries to break the barrier with a family that has had two members cured of the ailment
Amit Manchanda, the son of 66-year-old Meera Manchanda from Harinagar in west Delhi who is battling swine flu at a city hospital, has become a social recluse. Even though along with his sister he was the first in his family to get the flu in Chicago and has been cured of it since, he doesn't want to speak about the ailment. Worse, he becomes violent when anyone mentions the epidemic.
"How the h''l did you get my telephone number? And why do you want to speak to me? I don't want to speak to anyone. Stay away from us," he screamed when MiD DAY tried to talk to him about the success of his battle with the flu.
The reaction of his sister, who too has been cured, was similar. "Why are you following us? Why don't you just leave my brother alone? We are not interested in talking to anyone. There are many other patients in other hospitals, why don't you talk to them?" she said.
Social stigma
Psychologists say the social stigma attached to the epidemic is fuelling Amit's anger. "Swine flu is highly contagious and patients will have the fear of social acceptance. They feel if make their condition public, society may shun their company," said Arti Anand, consultant clinical psychologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.
But psychologists don't blame patients. Instead, they feel society is at fault. "Even though we are educated, we are still not open-minded about diseases. We should realise hiding an ailment will not help either the patient or the people around him," Anand said.
Neighbours in the dark
So scared are the Manchandas of becoming social outcasts, they have kept their neighbours in the dark too. "I have heard about swine flu but that is limited to airports. I think our colony is safe. I have not heard of even one such case in our neighbourhood. There is no such patient here," said Sanjay Sahani. What Sahani doesn't know is that his next-door neighbour Meera is infected with the H1N1 virus and has been struggling for life for over two weeks.u00a0u00a0u00a0
In spite of the influenza infecting three members of the Manchanda family, colony residents are unaware. AK Katyal, president of the Harinagar RWA, said, "There isn't any case of swine flu here. I will distribute circulars informing residents about the infection."
Most in the Manchanda neighbourhood are not even aware of the measures that can be taken to avoid contracting the flu. "We have seen television clippings on the flu but have no idea how it affects us," said a group of teenagers, standing a step away from the Manchanda house.
Embracing the flu
Meera Manchanda will think twice before embracing her children again. Infected by the swine flu through her son and daughter while welcoming them at the IGI international airport, Meera is in the intensive care unit of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for over two weeks, fighting H1N1 virus.
Manchanda's son and daughter, flying in from Chicago, were suspected of being swine flu victims at the airport itself. However, the three went to the Deen Dayal Hospital the next day and all of them were reported to be suffering from the flu. While the children recovered within a few days, Meera is still struggling. "She has acute bronchitis and asthma. And that is complicating her infection," said a doctor attending to Meera, wishing anonymity.u00a0
