Swine flu: TTD declares high alert in Tirupati

The temple city is fully geared to meet any eventuality arising out of the outbreak of A (H1N1) influenza.

The Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) and the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the major stakeholders in the prevention of a possible outbreak of the influenza, commonly referred to as ‘swine flu’, have closeted with their respective teams of officials to chalk out the steps needed to keep it under control, especially in the pilgrim-choked areas of the city.
Special block

The SVRR Government General Hospital has opened a quarantine section and a special block with six beds to treat such cases. People with symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, body pain, diarrhoea and vomiting are advised to visit this block or any of the municipal Urban Health Centres (UHCs) for a checkup.

With fears abound among the public about a possible attack with the entry of carriers in the garb of devotees, municipal commissioner P. Mohan Reddy has sought to allay their fears by stating that steps were in place to meet such eventualities. While stressing that no case had been reported so far, he advised the public not to nurture any apprehensions, nor fall prey to rumours about the spread of A (H1N1) cases. Health Officer R. Mitra pointed out that 135 pigs found in the vicinity of the city had been shot dead this month.

Similarly, the TTD management has also declared a high alert and asked its medical and health staff to look for suspicious cases. At a meeting convened at Tirumala with the Special Officer A.V. Dharma Reddy in the chair, it was decided to spread the message among the visiting devotees, alert them about the symptoms and rush identified carriers of the influenza to the TTD’s Aswini Hospital.