Swine flu : Causes / Concerns / Measures ...

M

MAGNeT

Skilled
Why is the government the sole tester for the H1N1 flu infection? Why is the health minister making claims of extraordinary costs for the test? Why is the curative vaccine only being sold by the government?

The Union health minister had reportedly said that each swine flu test costs the government somewhere around Rs 10,000.

The test for H1N1 can be done through the Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction test. This is 100 per cent reliable and costs around Rs 1,500 rupees a test, said a doctor who does not want to be named.

The other test is a CARD test which is sold as a kit, explains another doctor. In this test, the blood sample is dropped on the card and the colour of the reagent indicates whether the patient has swine flu or not.

This CARD is available for Rs 500. When bought in bulk the cost will work out to Rs 300. This test is 98 per cent reliable.

"By creating an artificial shortage, a monopoly, the government is assisting someone to make billions of dollars," alleges a Mumbai doctor.

The private sector is ready to carry out tests and import the reagent. Why is the government not allowing them?

Most doctors rediff.com spoke to said the symptoms of swine flu could only be diagnosed by experienced doctors, as normal flu, pneumonia, and swine flu more or less showed the same symptom.

Swine flu has a window period too. The virus manifests itself in the patient only three days after the infection sets in. Any tests before that will read negative.

Hence, two tests with a gap of three days are imperative, said a doctor. Apart from symptoms like cold and fever, the kind of cough the patient has is also important in diagnosing the flu. Doctors say a patient with swine flu will have a 'barking cough' which can be detected only by a trained ear.

"What the mind does not know, the eyes do not see," says a doctor who does not want to be named and insists that unless a physician has seen similar cases and symptoms, he will not be able to diagnose the disease.
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Why is govt not allowing private labs test H1N1?: Rediff.com news
 
The answer lies in the news article itself.

"What the mind does not know, the eyes do not see," says a doctor who does not want to be named and insists that unless a physician has seen similar cases and symptoms, he will not be able to diagnose the disease.
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the reason for it is because, the flu mutates itself.

means, if everybody starts the taking the medicine, it becomes ineffective, its already happened in mexico i think.
 
I guess its a way to eat the tax payers money. 10k per test, bloat the count of tests performed, I would say someone in between gets to eat all that money.
 
salluks said:
the reason for it is because, the flu mutates itself.

means, if everybody starts the taking the medicine, it becomes ineffective, its already happened in mexico i think.
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Interesting point and if true means the doctor in Magnet's article does not exhibit much knowledge.

BTW did anyone realise swine flu is not something new

See this
 
Maybe they just dont want something like Resident Evil to happen. You know, private companies take the virus, test it on humans, mutate it into something deadly, it gets leaked and we all die.

On a serious note, do you guys think that the private companies are any better. Money is first then comes public health.
 
Forget this, even the test @ the airports is a joke, even if someone is carrying the virus, he / she is sure to pass it on to atleast a dozen people....people lined around like "flock of sheep" with nothing actually tested and just a form being filled....what sort of a screening is that! and then they wonder , how did it get here!
 
^You are wrong. There are thermal scanners here at IGI. You may not note it but everything is being screened. Even here in US, there are no checks at airports.
 
I guess the answer to why polio never gets eradicated even after decades of immunization and bachchan endorsement is also somewhere in that article :p

Also lol at screening at airports. I know of a certain airport where they did normal baggage checks for weeks with a non-functioning scanner.
 
Maybe because its the govt that has to keep tabs on the Swine flu cases in India and prepare contingency plans? Do you think there is any co-ordination between local path labs and the MoH?

And suppose the govt does let private labs conduct their own tests, do you think they are angels that they won't overprice their tests? Why does the govt ban the sale of oseltamivir in India? The major reason is to prevent drug resistance but by selling a variant of this drug, wont pharma companies attain total monopoly/dictate prices etc etc to the people?

The government are not as clueless as you think and they are definitely not as stupid as most of you think them to be.

Read through this for what you can expect in case of the "Resident evil" effect of Swine flu in India, lol.

Link - http://www.mohfw.nic.in/Pandeimc Preparedness plan-5-6.doc
 
pandemic preparedness.doc said:
As of now, India has a stock of 10 million capsules of oseltamivir. Some stocks are also committed by pharmaceutical companies for exclusive use by the Government. This drug is only available through the public health system and its retail sale is banned as indiscriminate use may lead to development of resistance. If there is widespread infection, MOHFW would review this decision.
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Confirmed ;)

leet sniper said:
The government are not as clueless as you think and they are definitely not as stupid as most of you think them to be.
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Yep!
 
yep yep, and if you read your newspapers everyday there was this about half a page notice by the govt. some months back when swine flu just started stating that the medicined(tamiflu and all) will be available at all govt. hospitals FREE OF COST, and urged people and doctors not to source them from somewhere else and take them as preemptive measures because the virus is highly likely to mutate itself and end up incurable.
 
l33t_5n1p3r_max said:
The government are not as clueless as you think and they are definitely not as stupid as most of you think them to be.
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I say they need to make a distinction between testing and treatment... they should (if not already) allow anyone to carry out tests and for confirmed cases send them to govt. hospitals for administering medicine if they want to keep things in control...
 
vishalrao said:
Or maybe they are clueless and stupid freaktards. (replace "freak" with the right 4-letter word). I say they need to make a distinction between testing and treatment... they should (if not already) allow anyone to carry out tests and for confirmed cases send them to govt. hospitals for administering medicine if they want to keep things in control...
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Quite true !

Was just watching a special coverage on people(in mumbai) being denied the necessary tests.

We have a potential epidemic on hand and these buggers don't have an effective plan.
 
MORE ON SWINE FLU :

What is the swine flu?

The swine influenza A (H1N1) virus that has infected humans in the U.S. and Mexico is a novel influenza A virus that has not previously been identified in North America. This virus is resistant to the antiviral medications amantadine (Symmetrel) and rimantadine (Flumadine), but is sensitive to oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza). Investigations of these cases suggest that on-going human-to-human swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is occurring.

What are the symptoms of swine flu?

Although uncomplicated influenza-like illness (fever, cough or sore throat) has been reported in many cases, mild respiratory illness (nasal congestion, rhinorrhea) without fever and occasional severe disease also has been reported. Other symptoms reported with swine influenza A virus infection include vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia, headache, chills, fatigue, and dyspnea. Conjunctivitis is rare, but has been reported. Severe disease (pneumonia, respiratory failure) and fatal outcomes have been reported with swine influenza A virus infection. The potential for exacerbation of underlying chronic medical conditions or invasive bacterial infection with swine influenza A virus infection should be considered.

What should I do to keep from getting the flu?

First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

What to look for?

Those who have flu-like symptoms need to be extra careful. If they have breathing difficulty or have blood in their cough they must immediately go to the doctor and get tested

Useful links -

The ABC of Swine Flu

Huge List of FAQ

What should I do to keep from getting the flu?

Swine flu strikes the weak

View attachment 7911

Following is the list of government authorized hospitals for treatment of Swine Flu:

CHENNAI

King Institute of Preventive Medicine 24/7 Service Guindy, Chennai – 32 044 22501520, 22501521 & 22501522

Communicable Diseases Hospital Thondiarpet, Chennai 044 25912686/87/88, 9444459543

Government General Hospital Opp. Central Railway Station, Chennai – 03 044 25305000, 25305723, 25305721, 25330300

PUNE:

Naidu Hospital Nr Le'Meridian, Raja Bahadur Mill, GPO, Pune - 01 020 26058243

National Institute of Virology 20A Ambedkar Road, Pune - 11 020 26006290

KOLKATA:

Infectious Diseases Hospital 57, Beliaghata, Beliaghata Road, Kolkata - 10‎ 033 23701252

COIMBATORE:

Government General Hospital Near Railway Station, Trichy Road, Coimbatore - 18 0422 2301393, 2301394, 2301395, 2301396

HYDERABAD:

Govt. General and Chest Diseases Hospital, Erragadda, Hyderabad 040 23814939

MUMBAI:

Kasturba Gandhi Hospital Arthur Road, N M Joshi Marg, Jacob Circle, Mumbai - 11 022 23083901, 23092458, 23004512

Sir J J Hospital J J Marg, Byculla, Mumbai - 08 022 23735555, 23739031, 23760943, 23768400 / 23731144 / 5555 / 23701393 / 1366

Haffkine Institute Acharya Donde Marg, Parel, Mumbai - 12 022 24160947, 24160961, 24160962
KERALA:

Government Medical College Gandhi Nagar P O, Kottayam - 08 0481 2597311,2597312

Government Medical College Vandanam P O, Allapuzha - 05 0477 2282015

Taluk Hospital Railway Station Road, Alwaye, Ernakulam 0484 2624040 Sathyajit - 09847840051

Taluk Hospital Perumbavoor PO, Ernakulam 542 0484 2523138 Vipin - 09447305200
GURGAON AND DELHI:

All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS Ansari Nagar, Aurobindo Marg Ring Road, New Delhi - 29 011 26594404, 26861698 Prof. R C Deka - 9868397464

National Institute for Communicable Diseases 22, Sham Nath Marg, New Delhi - 54 011 23971272/060/344/524/449/326

Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital Kharak Singh Marg, New Delhi - 01 011 23741640, 23741649, 23741639 Dr. N K Chaturvedi – 9811101704

Vallabhai Patel Chest Institute University Enclave, New Delhi- 07 011 27667102, 27667441, 27667667, 27666182

BANGALORE:

Victoria Hospital K R Market, Kalasipalayam, Bangalore - 02 080 26703294 Dr. Gangadhar - 94480-49863

SDS Tuberculosis & Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases Hosur Road, Hombegowda Nagar, Bangalore - 29 080 26631923 Dr. Shivaraj - 99801-48780
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It's spreading fast..... Take care
 
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