Experts unsure how virulent H1N1 will be in India

Though no case has been detected so far, experts say there is no saying how severely swine flu would spread in the country

Experts unsure how virulent H1N1 will be in India

The intensity of the damage caused by swine fu has varied from country to country. Pune is screening all passengers for symptoms of the virus

Though not a single confirmed case of swine flu has been detected in India, experts are worried about how dangerous the virus can be in India. This is because the intensity of the virus has differed from country to country. A C Mishra, director of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), told MiD DAY, 'Swine flue has caused maximum death in Mexico, but the same virus did not cause too much problems in the US.' Therefore, it is difficult to predict its effect in a particular country.

He added that NIV has been receiving samples from all international airports, but so far nobody has tested positive for swine flu. He refused to divulge number of samples tested by the institute. The NIV and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases New Delhi are the only two institutes in the country authorised to carry out tests on samples from suspected swine flu cases. Mishra said swine flu is very different from bird flu, as the mortality in the case of the latter is nearly 60 per cent. Bird flu is a severe virus whereas not much is known about swine flu at the moment.

Mishra has returned to Pune after attending a week-long emergency meeting called by the World Health Organisation in Geneva to discuss the diagnostic protocols for testing the H1N1 virus.u00a0 Meanwhile, Suresh Dhotre, joint director of health services, conducted a meeting on Monday attended by airport officials, Pune Municipal Corporation officers and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal health officials and Sassoon General Hospital and NIV authorities onu00a0 how to tackle the disease patients who show symptoms of the virus.

He said the Airport Authority of India in Pune have been told to screen patients coming from other countries.u00a0 Pune has two international flights from Dubai and Frankfurt, which arrive in the city at 12.30 and 3.30 am respectively. u00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u009cIf anyone shows symptoms of swine flu, he will be screened and shifted to a special isolation ward at Naidu Hospital. Two ambulances are kept outside the Pune airport.

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