As the panic has spread in Pune after the first swine flu death in the country, the scene isn't too different in Mumbai, where there is rush among parents to get their children tested for H1N1.
Even on the Raksha Bandhan, wards of Wadia Children's Hospital were busier than a working day.
While doctors and health authorities have said there is no need for panic, anxious parents are still rushing their children to hospitals for check-ups for any kind of fever.
Since Monday, the hospital has screened over 100 cases. Most have common cough and cold, but parents don't want to take a risk. And then there are some from residential schools in Pune and Satara that have reported swine flu cases.
"We have seen a spurt in the number of parents bringing their children for testing. Many have come all the way from boarding schools in Panchgani," said Ira Shah, a paediatrician.
The hospital puts each kid through a series of tests to strike out diseases that have similar symptoms as the swine flu. If all tests are negative, and yet the kid is suffering, his or her swab is sent to Kasturba Hospital, which is equipped to test swine flu.
Parents are also queuing up for alternative medicines like homeopathy because they promise preventives. Such is the rush that Dr Kamlesh Suryanwanshi has had to keep his clinic open on a holiday.
"Earlier too we have dealt with chicken guinea, malaria, leptospirosis and SARS. Now in swine flu parents aren't fully aware of the symptoms, so they fear for their children and bring them here," said Dr Kamlesh Suryawanshi, homeopath.
Mumbai has seen 22 positive cases till now, three of them children. There is no cause for panic, but doctors say, they can't lower their vigil.
