After the first wave of swine flu during the monsoon this year, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is now gearing up to tackle the ‘second wave’ of outbreak, saying that with the onset of winter, chances of the reappearance of the disease could not be ruled out.

Municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade appealed to the citizens that they should not neglect the initial symptoms like cold and cough and immediately rush to doctors for screening and treatment.

“We are not sure whether the swine flu will hit back and hence, there is no reason to panic as yet. But since winter is supposed to create favourable conditions for the H1N1 virus, we cannot deny the possibility of the quick spread of swine flu. Therefore, we do not want to take chances and have already started undertaking the necessary precautionary measures,” Zagade said.

“We want to emphasise that citizens who get symptoms like cold, cough and fever, should not waste time and immediately rush to the doctors for treatment, without waiting for what the throat swab diagnoses. They should not ignore symptoms and waste time, as it could lead to the spread of the disease. Since there is no dearth of tamiflu tablets now, there is no reason to worry.”

In order to be prepared for the worst, the civic body has lined up meetings with various groups and sections like medical practitioners, medical groups, NGOs, school authorities, pharmacy colleges, nursing staff, etc. Screening centres would again be kept on their toes and medical teams would be imparted training once again.

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