In Karnataka, the vaccine was earlier available only in private clinics but will now be part of the government’s routine immunisation schedule. It will replace various earlier vaccines. Children under five will have fewer pricks to endure and will be protected against a host of different diseases. The Karnataka government also looked to dismiss reports that the vaccine is unsafe.

Principal Secretary Health and Family Welfare Madan Gopal said, ‘There is a tendency to sensationalise the adverse effects which are minimal. The percentage is very small and some ill effects are inevitable.’

170 countries had already introduced the vaccine as part of their immunisation programme and none of them had reported any ill-effects.  ‘Adverse effects were documented in other states and we are ensuring that it does not happen in Karnataka,’ he said.

Dr Satish Gupta of UNICEF who has been closely involved in the implementation and monitoring of this project, told Deccan Herald that a total of 13 deaths were reported between Nov 11 and Feb 2013. ‘The reports on the deaths of two of the infants are yet to come. Out of the other 11, one death was due to extreme allergic reaction. The reports of the other ten infants indicate that they have died due to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The onset of this has happened between 24 hours to 48 hours after vaccination,’ Satish said.

What is vaccination?  

Vaccination refers to the practice of taking a substance to trigger the body’s immune system’s response against a particular disease. It is now a standard procedure and given to children at various ages. In public health practice, vaccination is given to confer community protection so that even unimmunized children will have a reduced risk of getting the disease. This is called the ‘herd effect’ of immunization. It’s routinely used to prevent various diseases like tuberculosis, polio, measles, hepatitis, etc.

Some experts believe that this may be due to the virus changing its character and evolving, though the extended winter (the virus thrives in cooler conditions) can’t be ruled out as well. The virus appears to have become stronger though its spreading power has been contained. The 2009 flu pandemic infected one in five people, comprising 20 to 27 percent of the population in Britain, US, India and China and 15 other countries and though the virus’ spreading powers seems to have been curtailed the number of deaths reported seems to be higher this year.

South to North?

The National Institute of Virology in Pune is trying to also figure out how the disease’s epicentre has shifted from Maharashtra (Pune and Mumbai were far worse hit last year) to North Indian. In 2013, Maharashtra registered only 150 cases and 13 deaths. The situation is similar in the Southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala where the number of cases have drastically gone down from last year.

One reason for this might be the fact that after a virus sweeps through a community that particular community develops herd immunity to the virus but experts believe more research is needed to be sure. While the H1N1 virus is being extensively studied all over the world, it will still take a thorough research lasting 8-10 years to come to a conclusion about the treating a relatively new disease like swine flu.

What is the swine flu virus?

Swine flu is caused due to a zoonotic disease which originally was transmitted from pigs to humans and now spreads from one human to another. The symptoms of swine flu are very similar to regular influenza and include fever, headaches, chills, diarrhoea, coughing and sneezing. One can prevent infection by maintaining basic hygiene and wearing a proper surgical mask during flu season. The number of cases shoots up during the summers and monsoon seasons. There are various vaccines available to combat the disease and antiviral treatments for prevention as well. One should however only use these medicines under a doctor’s supervision as indiscriminate use might result in susceptibility to the virus.

Read: Why the swine flu situation in India is bad

Prevention

Swine flu isn’t a disease that you can catch from pigs. It is in fact, a human virus that spreads from one human to another. The virus is extremely contagious. Here are some swine flu prevention tips: 

• It can spread through coughing and sneezing so always cover your face while doing so. And make sure people around you in office or home also follow this.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth too often
• Maintain a high level of personal hygiene. Always wash your hands before or after eating and particularly after returning from a public place.
• Sometimes virus can spread through droplets that have remained on surfaces of things like laptops, phones so avoid using someone else’s items.
• Avoid public places, unhygienic conditions, etc.
• If your city/area is swine-flu endemic, always wear a standard swine flu mask  in public places (the H-95 mask which is worn by nurses and doctors while collecting samples from swine flu victims). Normal surgical masks which sell like hot cakes during swine flu season might not give enough protection.
• If you feel sick and look like you are developing a cold or fever, stay at home and take enough rest. Rest has also been shown to increase ‘interferons’ which help our immunity to fight the virus better. Keeping away from others also prevents spread of the infection.

Also read: Swine flu: All you need to know

Don’t know the symptoms of swine flu? Check out our symptom search to know more about the H1N1 symptoms 

‘The tablets under review were tested and analysed at the regional drug and testing labs at Hubli and Bellary in the state and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. The results showed they were not of standard quality,’ the notification said. A black disinfectant fluid made by S.M. Pharma Ltd, Bangalore has also been banned from sale and use. 

Source: IANS

‘We called off the strike on January 29 after BMCRI officers said our demands will be met. All these days we were kept in the dark, waiting for the minister to sign the order. Now, they have left us in the lurch. We are from poor families and many of us are sole breadwinners. We have worked on contract for 5-6 years. Where do we go now,’ asked Asha R, a member of the association.

Earlier in January, the nurses had gone on strike to demand regularisation of their services. They had been working a monthly stipend of Rs 7,000 for the last five to six years and they had even gone on a hunger strike and over one hundred nurses were arrested on Jan 16 for trying to barge into the BMC.  

India.com Health View

This is the sort of apathy on part of our bureaucrats and leaders that is responsible for the country’s anaemic healthcare scenario, particularly in government hospitals. Nurses and paramedics form a very important part of the services offered by hospitals and the way they’re treated shows us that there is little respect for the efforts they put in.

Whether it’s punishment for protesting against the government is hard to explain because it’s clear that their demands weren’t unreasonable at all. The aforementioned nurses are part of healthcare fabric of the country and their efforts needed to be appreciated. The problem with healthcare delivery in this country isn’t the lack of resources but the lack of human power. While as many as 1.63 lakh doctors, nurses and other healthcare practitioners pass out each year, but they are mostly concentrated in urban centres.  The ones that end up in the public sector are treated so badly they end up leaving for greener private pastures and that includes completely institutionalised organisations like the Armed Forces. The only way forward is properly regulate and pay for the service provided by all the medical practitioners. This is the reason, you and I, pay taxes! 

The main demand of the doctors and staff from the Health Department who called off their strike on Tuesday was that the hospitals should be delinked from the government medical colleges. It’s believed that this decision has been welcomed by the agitated docs and other medical staff.

To fulfil Medical Council of India’s norms that said all new colleges should have their own clinical facilities, the hospitals under the Health Department were attached to the medical colleges after 2006, because of which the Health Department doctors had lost all promotion opportunities beyond the taluk level.

The Health Department has 2,310 primary health centres, 375 community health centres, 169 taluk hospitals and 17 district hospitals out of which 10 hospitals are attached to the Medical Education Department. People have to visit private hospitals for advanced treatment because 1,221 of the 2,943 sanctioned posts of specialists in the department are vacant.

A four-member panel, comprising Principal Secretaries of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education and Law and Parliamentary Affairs would be set up to study the feasibility of such a merger, sources in the Cabinet subcommittee told The Hindu. Headed by an Additional Chief Secretary, the committee will have to submit its report to the Cabinet sub-committee in three months, the sources said. They added that based on the report the Cabinet subcommittee will place the subject before the Cabinet. According to the sources, this merger will be a win-win situation for both patients and doctors and it will be based on the Gujarat model where a single department manages medical education and health services.

Currently, multiple government departments and agencies such as the Health and Family Welfare Directorate, the Medical Education Department manage State health services. With six referral hospitals, 25 maternity homes and 28 heath centres, the BBMP (Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike) has a parallel health service In Bangalore. The patients have a tough time because of lack of communication and coordination between these agencies. Shortage of staff and services has led to underuse of many primary level facilities. Secondary and tertiary level hospitals such as Bowring and Lady Curzon, Victoria, KC General and Vani Vilas in Bangalore are overcrowded due to patient referral from across the State.

The government also has planning to start the National Urban Health Mission in Bangalore. On a pilot basis, the government plans to set up 198 urban health centres in Bangalore in the first phase.

‘We give wait for a week for the Govt to meet our main demand of delinking the 10 district hospitals from the medical colleges. The Cabinet sub-committee set up to examine this demand is meeting tomorrow and we hope our demand will be considered,’ Dr Ravindra said.

This is a recent development. Earlier when the striking doctors and government representatives had met the talks had led to arguments without any headway. The representatives from the doctors’ and health departments’ employees were invited for talks with Health Minister Arvind Limbavali but walked out of the meeting shouting slogans in a while. The Govt’s decision to shift 10 district hospitals to the Department of medical education and handing over their control to the zilla panchayats hasn’t gone well with the doctors and this was the main reason that the doctors went on strike.

The indefinite strike called by 50,000 medical staff attached to the district taluk, general hospitals, and primary health centres and urban health centres under the Karnataka health department for five days had brought the state’s healthcare system to a screeching halt. This had left many patients in the lurch and a recent media report suggested that at least one life had been lost due to lack of healthcare facilities. A labourer who came in contact with a live electric wire and suffered burns passed away after there was no one to attend to him at the local government hospital. He was rushed to a private hospital but was declared brought dead.

The minister was attending the Rajyotsava celebrations at the hospital and decided to visit some departments including the general ward, OPD, children’s ward and blood bank.  The minister warned doctors and other staff that irregularity will not be tolerated and anyone who remains absent for three days without prior notice would invite strict action.

The minister also recommended the suspension of blood bank lab technician for dereliction of duty. He chanced upon the man when he spotted him standing in a corner. When he asked to see his work records, he found out that the file hadn’t been maintained. Ramdas recommended the constitution of a committee to hold an inquiry against Lokraj.

During its year long journey, the train has covered 23 states, stopping at 162 stations. Three coaches have exhibits on HIV/AIDS while the fourth one on NRHM exhibits tuberculosis, malaria, general health and hygiene, etc.

The Red Ribbon Express’ target is to focus on rural and inaccessible areas in India with an objective to educate people about prevention and to reduce the stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Red Ribbon Express train was first launched on the World AIDS Day in 2007. The Project has since then evolved into being the largest multi-media and multi-sectoral mass mobilisation project. This innovative initiative has been commended globally as a unique example of its kind in various forums. In the second phase of 2009, the Red Ribbon Express had reached out to more than 8 million people touching 153 stations and a distance of 27,000 kilometres.

According to state health minister Aravind Limbavali, the Karnataka State government is all set to sign of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with specialists which will see them improve healthcare services in the rural sector. The government hopes that this move will help solve the issue of specialist docs in the community health centres and district hospitals.

Speaking at the official launch of the Vajpayee Arogyashree health scheme for the Bangalore division on Sunday said that the government was spending lakhs on educating medical students but wasn’t getting anything in return. ‘Most doctors, however, have preferred to settle abroad, and this has led to acute shortage of doctors in Karnataka,’ said Limbavali.  They’re also discussing implementing a new law, ‘Right to Health’, which will be along the lines of the Right to Education Act. 

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who launched the scheme, said it was functioning successfully in Gulbarga and Belgaum divisions and he expected a similar response from families below poverty line (BPL) in Bangalore. Deputy CM R Ashoka said that India’s healthcare system which lags behind most developed countries needs to be strengthened and the Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme was a move in that direction. ‘The Vajpayee Arogyashree scheme is an initiative to provide latest and free medical treatment to the poor.’

Kannada film actor Darshan has been roped in by the Health Department as an ambassador for all similar health schemes in the State.  The department had organised a screening camp at Kadugodi near Whitefield on Saturday where over 5000 people underwent health check-ups. More than 138 persons were told to take tertiary treatment in hospitals identified under the scheme. Vajpayee Arogyashree, which was first launched in Gulbarga division in 2010, was extended to Belgaum and then to Mysore division. So far, over 30,500 patients have received pre-authorisation to undergo tertiary treatment and more than 21,000 patients have been treated for their ailments.

The government has spent about Rs 165 crore to help members of BPL families receive tertiary treatment.

Also read: What ails India’s healthcare system

 Lack of specialists

 The health minister said that of the 5,500 docs in the health department 2,500 are General Duty medical Officers. There was a scarcity of specialist docs. While the department has a vacancy for 600 specialists only 252 applied. Of these 137 came for counselling and only 72 joined. Eight docs however left after getting rural postings.

This is in sharp contrast to the private sector where more than 6,000 would apply for 600 posts. 

Healthcare Challenge

The Principal Secretary added that “Healthcare in itself is very complex and to make it sustainable for 1.2 billion Indians is a huge challenge. We are fighting with the diseases of both developed countries — lifestyle diseases like cancer, diabetes, hypertension — and underdeveloped countries like malnutrition, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. We need to have convergence with the departments managing sanitation, nutrition and drinking water.”

The conference had over 180 participants who discussed the challenges faced by the healthcare sector in the country.

Preetha Reddy, conference chairperson and Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd., said that healthcare providers needed to go beyond their traditional boundaries and thought process to provide better healthcare services “The challenges are large and the danger of not tackling the menace of the disease burden in the country innovatively will have far reaching and disastrous consequences,’’ she said.