ANANTAPUR : The rising swine flu cases in the district is sending shivers down the spine of everyone and has put the health department on tenterhooks. In the last two months alone, 21 cases of swine flu have been reported from different parts of Anantapur. Of them, five are children, who are currently undergoing treatment at the Government General Hospital.
The first swine flu case in the district was reported on October 10. The number of cases being reported at government hospitals, is increasing day by day. It is suspected that there might be more swine flu cases as several of them go unreported like in case of other diseases.
According to sources in the health department, seven women and five children are being treated for swine flu at the Government General Hospital after being diagnosed with H1N1 virus in the last two weeks.
The swine flu cases were reported from Obuladevaracheruvu, Narpala, Singanamala, Guntakal, Tadipatri, Anantapur rural and other mandals. The data clearly shows that swine flu has spread to most parts of the district, causing a severe concern to the health officials.
According to government hospital doctors, all the patients got infected with swine flu when they visited other places.“With the increasing number of swine flu cases, we have alerted the people and started promoting awareness among them about symptoms of the disease and precautions need to be taken to protect themselves from H1N1 influenza. So far, we have conducted 436 medical camps in the district. After identifying swine flu positive cases, we are also treating the family members of patients as a precautionary measure,” said Dr Anil Kumar, District Medical and Health Officer.
The health department has also taken up an awareness campaign at bus stands and railway stations to check the spread of swine flu. High fever, cold with running nose, throat infection, headache, shivering, cough and body pains are symptoms of swine flu. People with such symptoms are advised to undergo medical examination. “We have put all the hospitals in the district on alert and hope that the situation will return to normal at the earliest,” the DMHO said.