Swine flu testing labs to be ready in 20 days

With the health department having initiated the process of setting up swine flu testing laboratories in Madurai and Tirunelveli, these facilities will start functioning in 20 days.

The state government had announced, after a review meeting in Chennai on Tuesday, that testing laboratories for A (H1N1) flu would be established at government medical colleges in Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli. ”Formalities for providing the testing equipment have started and training is being given to lab technicians at the king institute of preventive medicine in Chennai”, health minister M.R.K. Pannerselvam told The Hindu on Thursday.

Training in conducting the laboratory tests was an important component in fighting the swine flu as the tests could not be done properly if trained personnel were not available in government hospitals. The testing equipment cost around Rs.30 lakh and once it was available locally, samples of suspected cases need not be referred to the king institute, the minister said and appealed to the people not to panic.

Officials in the directorate of public health said that the Real Time PCR test equipment for carrying out swine flu tests would be given to Government Rajaji Hospital/ Madurai Medical College and Tirunelveli Medical College. Adequate number testing kits would also be made available, an official said.

Meanwhile, the director of the public health and preventive Medicine, S.Elango, said that there was no increase in incidences of fever cases in Tamil Nadu, as corroborated through monthly data from government and private hospitals. “Our analysis has shown that 10 per cent of the state’s population will normally have common cold at a given point in time, of which half of them will have normal fever. These cases cannot be construed as swine flu”, Dr.Elango said.

Seeks nod

To step up testing and treatment facilities for swine flu cases in Madurai region, vadamalayan Hospitals here has approached the state Government for its permission. Right now, the Government Rajaji Hospitals (GRH) here has an isolation ward to patients suspected to the GRH with swine flu symptoms were discharged from the hospital on Thursday.

Sangili Murugan (18), a student from Oddanchatram in Dindugal district, and Balamurugan (32) of palanganatham here were admitted on Wednesday with complaints of fever, cough and sore throat. Samples were sent to the king institute in Chennai for tests and the results are awaited. “They were discharged on Thursday morning itself since they did not have fever,” S.M. Sivakumar, Dean in-charge, GRH, said.

Authorities in Vadamalayan Hospitals are of the view that private hospitals can join hands with the government in fighting the flu. “If the government gives permission, we will create an isolation ward and procure testing kits.”

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Swine flu triggers panic in Pune

Parents in Pune have pressed the panic button after the death of Rida Shaikh, the first in the country to fall to swine flu, on August 3. On Wednesday over hundreds of people thronged Pune’s Naidu Hospital to get themselves or their children screened for swine flu. Over 300 went to the Aundh Hospital, the only other government-designated hospital in Pune dealing with swine flu cases.

Speaking to The Hindu, Dr. V. Satarkar of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) that runs the Naidu Hospital said, “People have got scared after Rida’s death. Over a thousand people with cold cough and free came to our hospital today. Our team of 10-12 doctors has been checking them since morning. On Tuesday night checking went on till 11.30.”

As tempers soared because of the skewed patient to doctor ratio, police had to be called to control the crowd, he added. The hospital had 13 positive cases as of Tuesday.

At the Aundh Hospital, people came not just to get themselves checked but also to know about sine flu. The throat swabs of 17 people were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and their results were awaited. At present, the hospital has three positive cases.

Additional Commissioner of the PMC and head of Pune’s joint coordination committee for the containment of swine flu M.S. Devnikar said, “There is no reason for people to panic. We are doing everything from our side. At Naidu, the present capacity is 20. But about 100 can be accommodated in our new building. We are going to conduct a meeting with the headmasters of schools to give them guidelines. NGOs on-governmental organizations should also come forward to help create awareness.”

Meanwhile, five more people tested positive for swine flu in Pune on Wednesday, three of them being students of St. Anne’s High School, where Rida Shaikh studied.

Mumbai too witnessed some panic and people made a rush to the Kasturba Hospital, the only centre treating swine flu cases in the city.

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Take a break relax the mind

If you think staying throughout the day without breaks will fetch you good marks in an examination, you are mistaken. Experts believe that taking breaks between long hours of study helps attain success.

This may sound contradictory but is true. Explains Dr V.Muthukrishnan, psychiatrist, Apollo hospital, Chennai.” studying for long hours without a break is not very productive. This is because after a certain period of time stress levels go up and concentration levels come down.also, the mind gets defocused and hence the knowledge gained or the idea generated during that period doesn’t sink in. taking short breaks helps refocus. It gives time for relaxation, rejuvenation and assimilation”.

Work play: aanand balan, psychiatrist, Sri Balaji medical college, Chennai, says,”syuding regularly for more then 50 minutes leads to receding concentration levels. Sitting continuously at the study table for long hours is, therefore a waste of both energy and time. In short, it is unproductive”.

However, these breaks should not be too long as they may then affect the tempo of studies “taking a break for about 10 to 30 minutes after every 45 to 50 minutes of continuous study rejuvenates your body, mind and soul,” he says.

Meet Amit, who has always been scoring more than 80 percent marks. “I often go for a break after one hour of study .though my mom doesn’t like it, I still do. She says that I should not waste my time in going for a break.rather, utilizing that will help me fetch 90 percent marks. But then, I know that whenever I study continuously for more than an hour, my concentration level goes down. Going for a break. Helps me rejuvenate and feel fresh. if I study continuously, I will not be able to score even 60 percent marks, forget about 90 percent ,”he says.

Remember-long hours spent at the study table defocuses the mind and sports help refocus. So keep sporting and keep studying!

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