8 People Dying of Swine Flu Every Day, Says Rajasthan Government

In an alarming disclosure, the Rajasthan government said today that almost eight people are dying every day of swine flu in the state.

In February, the disease has seen an alarming spurt. While there were 180 swine flu cases in January, out of which 39 died, the number rose to 3,468 in February and the disease has already claimed 152 lives this month.

Doctors in Rajasthan say they have tested over 10,000 people for swine flu so far; they say the number of people queueing up for the test is due to the increase in awareness.

But some people are still reaching hospitals very late. "I did not get cured at the private clinic I was going to, that's why I have come here," said 23-year-old Santosh who has been running cough cold and fever for the past five days and has finally come to Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital.

What makes Santosh more vulnerable is that she is eight months pregnant. Pregnant women are among those most at risk from swine flu and with patients not starting medication on time, the spread of the disease is only getting worse. Of the number of Swine flu deaths reported in Rajasthan, nine per cent have been pregnant women.

Also hitting patients hard is the lack of specialty care units - there are only six government hospitals in the entire state that offer such care. This means one big hospital catering to about 5-6 districts.

Doctors heading the state's newly constituted task force on swine flu also say the government just does not have the facilities to cope with an outbreak of this magnitude.

"There should be an infectious disease institute, and it should be connected to the medical colleges. Also, there should be a second rung of critical care units , this can go a long way in saving patients and government should also look at pre-emptive steps for the future," said Dr Ashok Pangariya, the head of the task force.

There are 94 beds in the various critical care units in six medical colleges across Rajasthan, but it is inadequate for a population of nearly 4 crores.