Health alert: Punjab sounds alarm after 35 swine flu cases

Health department warns people to take extra care if they suffer headache, nausea

LAHORE: After 11 deaths and 36 more cases confirmed across Punjab, the provincial health department issued a Swine flu alert on Saturday requesting people to take extraordinary care if they get even normal headaches and muscle pains.



“Please don’t take fever, sore throat, cough, headache, muscle or joint pain and nausea and vomiting, or diarrhoea as normal ailments,” requested Health Department spokesman Ikhlaq Ali Khan, adding that these symptoms can lead to “swine flu which may cause sudden death”. Talking to The Express Tribune he said at least 95 patients from Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore have been suspected of contracting Swine flu, while 36 have been confirmed.

“We have already sent samples of body fluids to Karachi’s Aga Khan University Hospital and National Institute of Health Islamabad,” he informed.



Precautionary steps

An office bearer of Young Doctors Association Dr Waleed, who was dealing with Swine flu cases in a state-run hospital, told The Express Tribune it was not easy to detect Swine flu physically, but any well-equipped pathological lab can diagnose it.

H1N1 reaches Karachi

After Punjab, the swine flu virus has appeared in Karachi. The presence of the swine flu virus in five persons who had travelled to the city from Punjab has spread concern among the citizens.



The infected persons had symptoms of fever, flu and sore throat over the past few days on which their physician suggested them to have some lab tests. The results were found positive and now the Sindh Health Department has also confirmed that they have the swine flu.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2016.