H1N1: docs for thorough screening in schools

Mahesh Zagade,Municipal commissioner,R R Pardeshi,chief medical officer PMC,Shashikala Sangle,Head of the medical department of B J Medical college and Sassoon hospital and Rajesh Kulkarni,paediatrician,Sassoon hospital talked to representatives from various institutions about the ways by which the spread of the flu can be controlled.

“There is no need to panic about the disease. It is a normal flu,like any other flu. But it is important that steps are taken to prevent it from spreading,” said Zagade.

Stressing further on the point,Pardeshi said,“Between May 2009 and July 2010,as many as 1805 positive patients were discharged. In the new academic year up to July 7,34 school students have tested positive and been discharged as well. So there is absolutely no need to panic. It is easy to prevent the disease if parents and teachers are careful.”

Speaking about some of the measures that the schools need to adopt,Rajesh Kulkarni said,“It should be made mandatory by school authorities for school teachers to begin the class by active screening of students to detect any student with flu like symptoms. If any child shows the symptoms,they should be sent home immediately and asked to go to the screening centres.” He also said that in case of a positive detection from the school,the closure of the school is advisable as there is a possibility of community spread.

Stressing on the need for medical workers to take the vaccine,Shashikala Sanghle said,“Even if the government has not yet made it mandatory for health workers to take the vaccine,it is very important that they do take it. Most of the doctors are not taking the vaccine because of the fear of the Guillian barre syndrome. However,they need to understand that the vaccine doesn’t have any side effects and people working in close proximity to the positive patients should be immunised.”

Sanghle also added that people,other than pregnant women and people with heart ailments should go for the vaccine as it takes 15 days for the vaccine to immunise a person. So if people take the vaccine now,they will easily be immunised by the end of July. “The use of N95 masks can also be limited to medical workers and at the moment there is no need for others to wear masks,” said Sanghle.The PMC will also distribute pamphlets and posters in schools describing the DO’s and DONT’S. “Following some simple steps like washing hands from time to time,drinking lots of water and eating a healthy diet can ensure that the disease is prevented,” added Zagade.