With summer receding, the fear is that the number of H1N1 cases in India is likely to rise. But a 20-year-old boy, who became the second confirmed case of H1N1 in India, now wants to tell the rest of India that there is no need to panic.
Reyhaan has become an ambassador of sorts to tell the world there is nothing to fear on H1N1. His family has been making public appearances to convey just that.
"It is not dangerous. There is nothing to worry about or panic and its curable. I am cured completely. I am very healthy. Never felt better," he said.
The 20-year-old medical student came out of isolation 10 days ago after getting cured of the H1N1 virus. He is back in college and the same friends who had asked him if he is going to die are now better informed.
"When we came to know that he had swine flu, we all were really scared about him. But as days went by, we were getting to know he was getting cured. We all were really happy," said Reyhaan's friend Irfan.
Reyhaan's parents feel it is important to allay apprehensions and remove doubts, so that people learn to act responsibly. That is why his father took the initiative of hosting an automated multilingual helpline with help from BSNL.
Even as the number of H1N1 patients in India is threatening to take an exponential turn, Reyhaan is an example to show there is no need to fear the virus and it is better to know about it and take the right precautions.
