Doctors feels tough to control panic-stricken Hyderabadis

Hyderabad, Aug 14 :

   With the Swine Flu pandemic spreading, hundreds of people swarmed the Government Chest  Hospital, Hyderabad  on Friday  to undergo screening  for  the viral disease.

Panic-stricken citizens queued up at the Chest Hospital to be tested for Swine Flu. But to their utter dismay many of the patients are being turned away by the  hospital authorities. The reason cited by the hospital authorities is that it is highly impossible to screen every person.

One of the disappointed patient who was waiting for his turn in the queue complained: “We were kept waiting outside the hospital for hours. The doctors or staff did not bother to call us in for the tests.”Work has been really grueling for the doctors at the Chest Hospital because  they are not in a position to convince those who come for checkup as when they should really go for screening and when to stay at home.So panic stricken are the public that they are visiting even the designated nodal centre with letters endorsed by MLAs or 

Ministers. The doctors have turned own many such recommendations citing the reason that the tests will be conducted only on the suspected cases reaching Hyderabad either from abroad or neighboring Maharashtra state.Even people running cold, wearing surgical masks are queuing up for screening tests. The hospital authorities literally have to plead with them requesting them to stay at home so that it will not spread to others.

The state coordinator for Swine Flu K. Subhakar interacting with the media said ``'We can't afford to waste money by conducting tests on all the people who want to undergo the screening tests. Our  efforts should be to treat those are really in need of it so that the spread of the virus will be kept under check.’’The coordinator denied the reports that here are any deaths in the state due to

Swine Flu. So far 79 cases were tested positive in Andhra Pradesh. Of which four are from port town of Vishakapatnam.  Of the 79 people 72 have already been discharged.

 Since the last week of April, 2009, the government authorities have screened 2,76,000 passengers for Swine Flu at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad.