Most cases of swine flu are reported too late, say doctors.
Ahmedabad seems to have become the epicenter of Gujarat's swine flu menace; of the 255 cases reported across the state, 129 are in the city.
And of the 12 deaths recorded in the state in the last 24 hours, four were in Ahmedabad.
Dr Rajesh Solanki, who heads the pulmonary medicine department of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, is trying to tackle the many swine flu cases being reported in the last few days. He is helped by a team of doctors and para-medical staffers, at the custom-made swine flu Out Patient's Department at the civil hospital.
But the medical staff is overworked and may be at risk themselves. Three medicos at the hospital have already tested positive for swine flu.
Doctors say enough safeguards are in place, but as the hospital is swamped with cases, most of the 150 doctors at the civil hospital are working with barely any breaks.
"A sizeable number of patients who visit the OPD turn out to be affected by the virus so the pressure is much more, but we are working round-the-clock to ensure that they are taken care of,'' Dr Solanki told NDTV.
Most cases of swine flu are reported too late for them to be treated in time, say doctors, claiming late diagnosis is the primary reason for the rising number of deaths.
But the government may also have reacted late to the growing crisis. Door-to-door surveys were launched just about a week ago, after the number of swine flu cases shot up; OPDs to handle swine flu cases were set up only 10 days ago.
Government doctors, meanwhile, are hopeful that a change in weather may help bring the number of swine flu cases down. "In the next one week, we expect the virus to hit a saturation point and then there will be a dip in such cases,'' said Dr Solanki.