248 patients in Madurai district show H1N1 symptoms, 28 test positive

MADURAI: “There are about 248 patients with symptoms of H1N1 who are undergoing treatment in the hospitals in Madurai. Twenty-eight of them including five at the Government Rajaji Hospital, and the rest in private hospital have tested H1N1 positive and are under treatment,” said Madurai district collector S Natarajan. There are only 8 dengue patients under treatment at the GRH now, he added.
Speaking to reporters, in Madurai on Saturday, the collector said all steps were being taken to prevent an outbreak of dengue.As H1N1 is caused by hygiene issues awareness campaigns are also being undertaken on maintaining good hygiene, he said. Out of the 248 patients with H1N1 symptoms, 136 are from Madurai district and 112 from other districts, the collector pointed out.
He said that following reports of a spike in fever cases in hospitals, it was found that some of the private hospitals, showed a high number of suspected H1N1 patients and he has ordered that the blood samples of all these patients be tested at the Government Rajaji Hospital.
Natarajan said that the hospitals had been asked to refer the patients to the GRH without much delay if they found it difficult to treat them, as the hospital had the best facilities and most of the deaths like that of Allimalar who died at the GRH on Friday, had been caused because she was admitted late in the government hospital, after receiving treatment in a private hospital.
“I take this opportunity to inform the public through the newspapers and media that the GRH has the best treatment facility for H1N1 and dengue and that the people should approach the hospital if they have fever continuously.”
A mass three day dengue prevention drive concluded on Saturday where about 90000 people participated. Those who participated including DBC (dengue breeding control) workers, corporation workers, municipality and town panchayat workers, members of SHG group and students who carried out an intensified inspection to break the dengue breeding cycle which could go a long way in preventing the spread of the disease, he said.
“Students had also been asked to produce sample water with Aedes aegypti larvae or pupa, and they were being given certificates by the district administration including prizes, and six students had qualified for it,” he said.
Meanwhile, two women Chitra,52, from Narikudi and Muthuselvi,32, from Thiruthangal both in Virudhunagar district who had been admitted to the fever ward at the Government Rajaji Hospital, succumbed on Saturday.