Home »General News » Pakistan » Swine flu alert issued in Punjab

Health department Punjab has issued a swine flu alert in the province in the backdrop of deaths caused by the disease in Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi. All major hospitals in Punjab have been asked to get their isolation wards fully functional to cope with an emergency situation, sources said. The sources claimed that the teaching hospitals had been advised to carefully diagnose and treat patients with flu and ensure shifting of suspected H1N1 swine influenza cases to isolation wards.

Hospitals had also been directed to report any such case immediately to the Health department, sources added. Health department is also running a media campaign to raise awareness among the people about the disease. It may be noted that a woman died of swine flu in a private hospital of Lahore a few days ago. Tahira was admitted in a private hospital four days ago and her blood sample confirmed that the victim positive to swine flu.

Health professionals said swine flu virus mostly attack weaker and less immune people. However, they advised the general public not to panic about swine flu, as the mortality rate from the disease is less than half a percent, while preparedness and prevention of disease is necessary. According to them, H1N1 virus of swine flu contained a combination of genes from swine, avian (bird), and human influenza viruses. Mild symptoms of the disease might include fever, sore throat, cough, headache, muscle or joint pains, and nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

"Those at risk of a more severe infection include asthmatics, diabetics, obese people, heart disease, children and pregnant women," they said. Like other influenza viruses, pandemic H1N1 was typically contracted by person to person transmission through respiratory droplets. Symptoms usually last 4-6 days. To avoid spreading the infection, experts recommended that those with symptoms should stay at home, away from school, work, and crowded places.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2016


the author

Top
Close
Close