Awareness session : ‘No threat of swine flu in Karachi’

KARACHI: There is no threat of swine flu as such in Karachi, said experts addressing an awareness session organised by Karachi Health Services directorate on Thursday. They said necessary precautions can always be taken to avert any possibility of the viral disease. Speakers urged the need for a ‘virology lab’ in the metropolis. Dr Nasim Salahuddin, Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi and Dr Shahid Mustafa talked about the necessity of hygiene and cleanliness, saying that indifference towards personal hygiene and cleanliness enhance the risk of diseases. Referring to the bird flu cases that were reported in the metropolis a few years ago, Dr Salahuddin said that these were mainly contracted by people who were already inflicted with seasonal influenza and who came into close contact with sick birds, unguarded.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd,  2016.