Girl’s death puts Navi Mumbai doctors on H1N1 high alert
NAVI MUMBAI: Following the shocking death of 13-year-old Sarita Chavan due to H1N1 influenza—the first such in two years—nearly 800 Navi Mumbai doctors will now undergo 're-sensitization' training to take timely action against the virus.
Sarita was diagnosed with H1N1 only three days after being admitted at MGM Hospital in CBD-Belapur. She succumbed to the virus on July 3.
Dr Ramesh Nikam, health department head, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), told TOI, "On Friday, we had an intensive meeting with various medical officers and superintendents on H1N1. We have instructed them to quickly retrain and re-sensitize all concerned doctors in the satellite city so that antiviral drugs can be immediately administered to any patient who shows H1N1 symptoms.'' In Navi Mumbai, all 175 private nursing homes have also been notified to be H1N1 alert.
Besides, said Nikam, more than two lakh printed handbills on precautions and preventive steps to combat H1N1 would be distributed to the public at large. Also, two isolation wards at NMMC Hospital in Vashi and Dr D Y Patil Hospital in Nerul have been kept ready for any eventuality. "There is no need to panic, as people can easily prevent H1N1 infection by following hygienic social habits,'' said Nikam.
"Since the first H1N1 victim (Sarita) was from Jai Durga Mata Nagar hutment colony in Sector 8, CBD, our medical officials have surveyed all the 216 homes in this slum and interacted with 984 residents to make them aware about its hazards,'' said Nikam. Antiviral drug Tamiflu has been administered to the victim's family. Doctors found 24 other residents of the slum suffering from cough and cold, and have put them under observation.
Meanwhile, in Mumbai, one more patient tested positive for H1N1 on Friday, taking the count to 68. The 54-year-old from Goregaon, who is admitted at a private hospital, is stable. Dr Mangala Gomare, head, BMC's epidemiology cell, said the man does not have a travel history. "He has already been put on the five-day antiviral course." This report has come from a private laboratory, indicating that tests here are now more affordable.
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