Though no case of swine flu has been reported in the country, Pune's state-run and private hospitals have put together treatment plans and stocked up on drugs
Though no case of swine flu has been reported in the country, Pune's state-run and private hospitals have put together treatment plans and stocked up on drugsu00a0
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Swine flu may not have entered the country yet, but the city's doctors at both private and government-run hospitals are seeing it as a real threat. From training staff, stocking up on the anti-viral drug Tamiflu to designating isolation wards, doctors are not taking any chances.
Sassoon General Hospital, the biggest government hospital in Pune with 1,500 beds, has already prepared an isolation ward to quarantine any patient, who comes with symptoms of swine flu. "So far, not a single case has been reported anywhere in Asia, but we cannot take chances. We are ready," said Dr Renu Bharadwaj, head of the department of microbiology at the B J Medical College, attached to the Sassoon Hospital. "We have trained our staff to swab throats and get a sample for the viral culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. The sample will be sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) for immediate laboratory testing," she added. The hospital has followed the government's directive to tie up with the NIV. In addition, the hospital has stocked up on Tamiflu, which is used to treat swine flu.
Private hospitals are not far behind either. Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, Medical Director, Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, confirmed that they have made the necessary arrangements to treat a patient suffering from swine flu. Dr Sujata Mallick, medical superintendent, Ruby Hall Clinic said, "We are ready to treat swine flu patients.
Those who need to be isolated will be sent to Naidu Hospital."
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