Beds doubled in hospitals for swine flu spike

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Beds doubled in hospitals

By: Alifiya Khan Date: 2010-08-20 Place: Pune

Nearly 500 beds now reserved for H1N1 patients in city to cope with swine flu

spike

TO cope with the rising number of swine flu cases in the city, the state health

department has increased the number of hospital beds that are to be reserved for

H1N1 patients.

The move came after it became impossible to accommodate the H1N1 patients in the

250-odd beds across isolation wards reserved for them.

" Over the past few days, the average number of patients admitted for swine flu

has been around 325, while some 250 beds had been reserved for them. That is why

we started getting reports that in some private hospitals, swine flu patients

were being admitted to general wards with other patients, which posed the risk

of

infection spreading, " said a senior official from health department. " It was

then decided to increase the bed capacity from 290 to 497. "

MiD DAY had first reported about the shortage of beds across hospitals in the

city and mixing of swine flu patients with people suffering from other ailments

in non-H1N1 wards.

Dr C A Kante, assistant director of health services, confirmed that 200

additional beds had been reserved for H1N1 cases.

" The number of cases is quite high and after looking at the trend of fresh

infections and hospitalisations, it

was recommended that extra beds be reserved for swine flu in whichever hospitals

it was possible to do so, "

said Kante.

Tamiflu debate

With the swine flu epidemic having reached its " third peak " , doctors are

debating whether they should revert to last year's practice of giving Tamiflu

as prophylactic treatment to all those who come in contact with swine flu

patients.

" As of now, we wait for people who are in touch with H1N1 patients to show

symptoms and then give Tamiflu.

But if we give Tamiflu to all those in contact with swine flu patients, then the

rate of infection can come down, " said Dr Sharad Agharkhedkar, president of

Indian Medical Association, Pune chapter. " One H1N1 patient today affects 1.5

new people. By following last year's regime, the rate of infection spread can be

brought down to 1.2 people. "

But some doctors disagree. Dr Aarti Kinikar, head of paediatric department at

Sassoon said prophylactic treatment didn't work last year.

" If a person doesn't have H1N1 and is given Tamiflu, then the drug might not

give desired results if that person later on actually gets swine flu, " said

Kinikar. " Besides, the World HealthOrganisation also recommends treatment only

after symptoms develop. "