Doctor dies from Swine flu in Lahore

[Treyfish]

Monday, 07 Dec, 2009
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<!-- IMAGE CAPTION -->A hospital worker adjusts an isolation rooms signboard on a ward, where Swine flu patients are being treated. -AP File Photo




<!-- BODY TEXT -->LAHORE: A thirty four year old physiotherapist has died from the Swine flu virus in Lahore.
A physiotherapist at Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital, Dr Iftikhar, had symptoms of Swine flu for almost a week. On Monday morning, he was tested for the H1N1 virus and was found positive.
However, before any treatment could be provided to him, he expired.
Dr Iftikhar had been working as a private practitioner with Bahria Town Hospital as well.
In order to avoid an endemic situation, the Punjab Government has put hospitals in Lahore on high alert besides directing them to make arrangements such as separate beds and wards for affected people. -DawnNewshttp://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...n-lahore-rs-04

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Doctor dies from Swine flu in Lahore

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C12%5C09%5Cstory_9-12-2009_pg13_3

Swine flu victim may have been infected by foreigner

* Punjab Health Department arranges quarantine measures at the Allama Iqbal Airport

Staff Report

LAHORE: The physiotherapist at the Nawaz Social Security Hospital who died of swine flu on Monday, may have been infected with the virus while treating a foreigner, said the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital said on Tuesday.

Iftikhar, who was a physiotherapist at the hospital was admitted to the hospital on November 30 with flu symptoms, which was later diagnosed as swine flu after his condition kept deteriorating. MS Dr Rahat Fatima reported that Iftikhar used to visit a private hospital and a noted hotel in Lahore to perform physiotherapy.

She suspected that he might have been infected during contact with a foreigner or some other person infected with the virus. She said the disease was contagious and could be transferred from person to person and from animal to person, where the animal in question could only be a pig.

She said the hospital had taken every possible precautionary measure to avoid the virus from spreading further once the report of Iftikar?s death by swine flu was confirmed. Dr Rahat said they had administered Tami-flu to the deceased?s family and had cautioned them to take precautionary measures like using masks and washing their hands properly.

She told Daily Times that blood tests had been conducted on the deceased? family as well as the hospital staff and the samples had been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad for examination. She added that the hospital staff had also requested the NIH to send in more swine flu medicine. The MS said they were keeping all those people under observation who remained in contact with Iftikhar during his illness to find out if they had caught the virus.

She said the symptoms of the virus included headaches, cough and body-ache, fever, soar throat and breathing problems, adding that immediate medical consultation should be sought if any of these symptoms appeared rather than ignoring them or self-medication. A spokesperson for the Punjab Health Department assured that all foreigners coming in to the country were properly being screened for traces of the swine flue virus at airports.

He added that such surveillance usually comes under the jurisdiction of the federal Ministry of Health but the Punjab Health Department had taken special permission to carry out these checks to plug in any loopholes. He said, ?Medical camps have also been set up at Allama Iqbal Airport for screening Haj pilgrim,? adding that the department had issued instructions to all hospitals in the city to take precautionary measures and allocate separate beds in case a swine flu patient is detected. Iftikhar happens to be the second victim of swine flu in Pakistan. Last month, an Afghan woman in Peshawar had contracted the virus and died subsequently.

[Pathfinder]

Re: Doctor dies from Swine flu in Lahore

Every man for himself as swine flu scare spreads
* Patients at Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital discharged without tests after discovery of two cases
* Doctors, paramedics more worried about keeping themselves from being infected with H1N1 virus

By Afnan Khan

LAHORE: While the administration of Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital has tested hospital staffers for swine flu, all patients under treatment at the hospital have been discharged without tests ? after the death of an employee infected with H1N1 and the diagnosis of a nurse sent a wave of panic across hospitals in the province.

The swine flu cases at Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital were the first in Punjab in recent times: a physiotherapist, identified as Muhammad Iftikhar, became the first victim when he died of respiratory problems caused by the flu before blood tests found him infected with the virus.

Although the flu has mainly affected India in the South Asian region, a number of people have been recently found infected with the H1N1 virus in Pakistan, especially Karachi.

Little attention is being paid to the health of the common man across Punjab, as doctors and paramedics working at wards are more concerned about keeping themselves from being infected with the virus after the cases at Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital.

Officials from the hospital told Daily Times that the administration only focussed on their employees by sending their blood samples for bird flu examination, while patients were allowed to leave the hospital without taking into account that those treated by Iftikhar and the nurse could also be potential victims.

Meanwhile, doctors slammed the government?s ?reckless approach towards prevention and treatment?, and said a lack of facilities at hospitals was also jeopardising doctors? health.

Young Doctors Association General Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi told Daily Times that the government should have provided doctors and paramedics special protective masks that had air-filtering features working. He said the handling the situation the way it initially dealt with the dengue fever threat. He said swine flue was even ?more dreadful than bird flu ... it is very much present in the society after the discovery of a number of a patients in Karachi and Lahore?.

He said the government must set up special isolation wards and provide all required equipment ? including an increased number of ventilators, which are essential to the treatment of swine flu patients ? to cope with the threat ?before it is too late?.

However, Chairman Chief Minister?s Task Force on Health Dr Saeed Elahi told Daily Times that the government had already made preparations to cope with the situation. He claimed that all required equipment had been provided to vulnerable people at hospitals. He said a facility to test the flu had also been set up at the Punjab Institute of Public Health ? where it took three days to examine a case.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009%5C12%5C13%5Cstory_13-12-2009_pg13_4