10,000 masks sold in 15 days

After the first swine flu death in Pune, several people in the city are panicking and are thronging city hospitals for enquiries. People with the slightest hint of cough and cold are anxious to get themselves tested for the H1N1 flu virus. Interestingly, the list starts from younger age group who are more concerned about contracting the deadly virus. Adding to this are mails that are frightening people with bizzare statistics of swine flu cases across the world. Says Dr. J. K. Reddy, pediatrician at Child Trust Hospital, “I get nearly five persons a day who enquire about swine flu. As there was a change in climate, many kids suffer from fever and cold. Concerned parents approach me wanting to know more about this disease and how it could affect their kids. As the symptoms for this virus are a common fever or cold, they are more worried.”
The demand for face masks have also increased. Dilip Ranka, manager at Chennai Surgical and Pharma Generics says, “There is an increase for swine flu masks. There are two types of masks — one of a cheaper quality available for just Rs 1.50 and the other at Rs 70. In 15 days, we have sold about 10,000 masks.”
Doctors are also advising the HR managers of various companies about what they should do when they come across such symptoms among employees. Says Dr. Vijay Raghavan, consultant medicine, LifeLine Hospitals, “I’m getting around four to five enquiries per day and many are from the IT sector. Surprisingly the age group is from 18 to 35 years. As the awareness is high, the fear factor is increasing and people with slight cold and fever are on the lookout for doctor’s advice.”
Says Divya Bhargavi, an IT professional, “One of my friends had a sore throat, running nose — almost all the symptoms of swine flu. But fortunately, her temperature came down and she was all right within a week. Adding to our worry are the various e-mails about the flu, even though we look at the lighter side of it. These have figures of people who died in USA, UK, Australia, and finally it reads, ‘It’s India’s turn to lose. Be cautious’.”
Dr. Gunasekaran, deputy director, department of Virology, King Institute of Preventive Medicine says, “People themselves assume that it could be swine flu and come to us. There is a lot of panic after the death of a young girl from Pune. Unless the director of Public Health permits, we are not allowed to proceed further.”

SWINE FLU MYTH BUSTER

* Eating pork could give you the disease : No, it does not. The virus spreads person-to-person by contact and close proximity.

* A running nose : Not necessary as it may be just a regular flu. Nevertheless if you have other swine flu symptoms such as high fever, vomiting etc., get a check-up done

* No cure : With proper medications and care, H1N1 virus can be cured.

* Safer with mask : May not be always helpful. It is better to sneeze into a tissue and bin them. Wash your hands regularly.

w H1N1 virus, the only threat today : There are more people dying of diarrhoea everyday compared to swine flu!