Flu help is just a call away

A 24-hour helpline, SMS campaign, hoardings and even street plays. BBMP is going all out to counter the H1N1 panic

Flu help is just a call away

A 24-hour helpline, SMS campaign, hoardings and even street plays. BBMP is going all out to counter the H1N1 panic

BBMP might have woken up late to the H1N1 panic, but it's making up for lost time with a full-fledged awareness-creation campaign.

Over 45 doctors have been deployed on its exclusive H1N1 helpline started to aid Bangaloreans, besides an H1N1 SMS campaign that aims at creating awareness about the disease.

Help is at hand: The BBMP is deploying a team of 45 doctors to man a 24-hour H1N1 helpline

'Dial 22660000'

Bangaloreans who suspect that they have H1N1 symptoms may call the helpline any time of the day and clear their doubts, said the officials.
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"Anybody can call 22660000 round the clock," said Manoranjan Hegde, coordinator, communicable diseases dept, BBMP. "We have initiated measures to ensure that the H1N1 helpline number reaches the maximum number of people. We have started getting queries everyday. Doctors themselves interacting with citizens will help."

"Our aim is to educate Bangaloreans. we have started many initiatives, of which the helpline run by doctors has proved to the most effective." added Hegde.

SMS campaign

BBMP is also running an SMS campaign to counter the flu scare. It has tied-up with the leading telecom service providers including BSNL, Vodaphone and Airtel, and has already kicked-off the SMS campaign that will run for ten days.

Five messages including those on H1N1 symptoms, Do's and Don'ts and help line numbers, are being sent to Bangaloreans as part of the campaign.

Besides these, to make the initiative much more effective, BBMP will display over two hundred hoardings across the city furnishing details about the disease and the helpline.

Posters and handbills on H1N1 too are being printed and distributed across the city.

More to come

BBMP, which has already allocated a fund of over Rs.10 lakh for these activities, is planning to go even further in creating awareness.

It will soon stage street plays across the city, which officials believe will help check the disease from spreading.
"We are starting more and more initiatives everyday," said Dr S Khandre, Public Relations officer, BBMP. "Many such activities will take place over the next one month to ensure that people aren't scared of it."

Come again another day?
Though efforts of the health authorities have managed to check the spread of H1N1 to a large extent, city doctors are warning that the number of cases might escalate in October.

The onset of the winter is expected to make the H1N1 virus more active and give it the potential to spread further.

According to Dr R Shashikanth, Medical Officer, St Martha's Hospital, not just H1N1 but other viruses too may arise in then which may be more harmful.

"H1N1 mainly infects people who have weaker immunity. People who spend most of their time indoors are more likely to get it," Dr Shashikanth said.

"We are advising people to make themselves as secure as possible against H1N1. However we have sufficient medicines and scientists are inventing new diagnoses," added Shashikant.

Some doctors feel that the epidemic will continue for anywhere between three to six months, lasting right up to next summer.

Dr T Su00a0 Cheluvaraju, head of H1N1 Monitoring Cell in Karnataka, said that there is a chance that the disease could come back. "But we have sufficient medicines and masks now. We are bringing awareness in the public about this Influenza A.

Moreover, we are concentrating on controlling the current phase, he said.u00a0

Mahesh Rao, who has just recovered from H1N1, said that he's afraid he might get the flu again. He continues to wear his mask, washes his hands every hour, and eats protein food to increase his immunity.

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