GUWAHATI: A bureaucrat, suspected to have contracted H1N1 virus during a trip to Hyderabad, has been sent to an isolated ward, while alert has been sounded in Assam against outbreak of the deadly disease.
''Rapid Reaction Teams (RRTs) are on standby outside the isolation ward, besides adequate stock pile of medicines,'' said Dr Hara Kanta Das, a state level member of the RRT at Mahendra Mohan Hospital, where the special isolation ward was set up.
The throat swabs of the first suspect case of swine flu have been sent for tests.
Meanwhile, playing down the development, Assam Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma said the state had ''enough medicines to take care of the disease.''
Authorities convened a high-level meeting to issue directives to the concerned officials regarding the precautionary measures to be taken.
''We have already alerted all our pig farm managers and district officials to report immediately if any influenza-like symptoms are found among the pigs. It should be immediately treated. They have been asked to keep a general surveillance on the pig population of the area,'' said Shyamlal Mewara, principal secretary, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department.
Pork is a staple diet of the people of Northeast, particularly Assam. Pork delicacies are customary among many tribes of the state on many religious and auspicious occasions.
The governments of other states - Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and Manipur - have also sounded alert.
''Assam and the Northeastern region have lesser cause for worry as the region is not connected with any direct international flight, the main carrier of the deadly virus. But we are not taking any chance,'' Dr Sarma said.
No comments:
Post a Comment