The village, located in the Devpura Gram Panchayat of Tonk block, has 124 households. It also has an upper primary school (UPS) with an enrolment of 109 children, including 44 girls. Kausar-ul-Nisa, 13, a student at the school, said girls could attend classes regularly now, since there were toilets in the school for them. Wali Mohammed, sarpanch of the village, said that since children were taught about handwashing and the use of toilets, there has been a decline in the number of people afflicted with water-borne diseases. The village, predominantly Muslim, has a population of 631. All homes now have toilets.

The toilets in schools are of the regular type with running water, while those in homes are usually of the soak-pit type. Tonk is one of the districts in Rajasthan that has benefited from the collaboration between Unicef and District Water and Sanitation Committees (DWSC) to pilot the Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS). The CATS strategy is to enable communities to adopt toilet use and adequate hygiene and sanitation to become OFD.

The strategy complements the national flagship programme, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA). Unicef’s WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) programme was launched here three years ago, in collaboration with the outdoor-adventure gear brand Woodland. The programme is now showing good results. The programme focusses on providing improved access to drinking water, gender and child-friendly sanitation facilities in schools, and institutionalising critical life-saving practices such as handwashing before mid-day meals in schools.

‘The partnership with the company (Woodland) will enable us to reach another 50,000 children and families in 200 schools over the next two years. The programme will lead to improved health and learning outcomes for children,’ said Samuel Mawunganizde, chief of Unicef in Rajasthan. ‘We did not merely want to donate money, but we wanted to actually bring about a change. For us, it is more than just an activity that comes under our Corporate Social Responsibility,’ Woodland Shoes managing director Harkirat Singh said.

The extent of the problem in India can be gauged by the fact that only 21 percent of the rural population has access to improved sanitation facilities. As per National University of Educational Planning and Administration’s 2009-10 data, a total of 27.6 million children, including 13.5 million girls, accounting for 14.7 percent of total children enrolled in the country, do not have access to toilet facilities in schools. In neighbouring Kali Hardia village, which primarily comprises the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other backward classes, the programme is paying dividends.

Toilets have been built in the lone primary school. But most of the families in this village have not been able to build toilets because they are poor. ‘I don’t like going out in the open to defecate so I have been telling my father to build a toilet at home. He has promised to build one this year,’ 10-year-old Asha Jangid said. Upendra Kumar, Tonk’s additional district elementary education officer, said: ‘Most families come from a poor background and cannot afford to build toilets. We have been providing money from central and state government schemes for the purpose.’

An estimated 90 percent of government primary and secondary schools in Tonk district now have toilets, with a separate facility for girls. However, problems persist. Villagers say the soak pits are filling up and since there is no one to clean them, it is leading to health hazards. Some of the children said teachers in the school would not allow them to use the toilets regularly.  Acknowledging that more efforts were needed, Upendra Kumar said the programme is facing problems because in some villages people use the toilets as storage space for grain. ‘They say storage space for grain is more important than toilets,’ Upendra Kumar added.

Source: IANS

It looks like the experts’ worries were justified after a recent incident of medical negligence, a sweeper accidentally cut off an infant’s finger while trying to remove stitches on his hand. This incident took place in Rajasthan’s Barmer district. While the sweeper was immediately sacked by the hospital, the police still haven’t registered a case against him.

According to a CNN-IBN report, the incident took place when the sweeper decided to attend to the child’s injury while the doctor and nurse from the hospital were absent. ‘We had discharged the child as per the parent’s request, but after the discharge they wanted to take out the stitches that were there in the child’s hand. They were in a hurry and so the sweeper who was sitting nearby told them that if they were in a hurry he could take it out for them,’ the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) was quoted as saying. ‘When the sweeper was attempting to take out the stitches, the child suddenly jumped due to the pain and due to that his finger got stuck in the scissors,’ he said.

Tragically, the sweeper failed to notice this and cut the finger off and even allegedly threw it away. The child’s father said that the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer has not responded to his complaint and the police too weren’t helping them by not registering a case. 

SMS hospital superintendent Dr Virendra Singh said, ‘We cannot rule out any teething problems in the initial stage of the scheme. But we are ready to tackle any sorts of problems. We are aware that on Monday the number would be much more compared to what we saw today.’

Meanwhile the situation at other hospitals weren’t very high. Kanwatia hospital principal medical officer Hari Om Sharma said: ‘We were expecting a huge rush on the first day but normally on Sundays the patients’ arrival remain less than weekdays. We are prepared to provide free test facilities when the number of patients would be higher on Monday.’

The hospital’s estimate is that there would be an increase of 30% in the number of patients coming to the hospital on normal days after the launch of the free test scheme.

‘We are launching this scheme from tomorrow (Sunday), which is World Health Day. Initially we will provide 57 kinds of tests free of cost to the patients at all the medical college hospitals and 44 tests in district hospitals across the state,’ said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

He said that the scheme is likely to benefit lakhs of patients across the state.

The chief minister added that in the second phase from Doctors Day (July 1), 25 types of tests would be provided free of cost at Community Health Centres (CHC) and from Independence Day (Aug 15) this year, 15 tests will be provided free at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and dispensaries.

‘We are confident of making this scheme successful,’ Gehlot said, adding his government has taken various measures for the benefit of people, implementing 65 schemes and taking various steps in social security.

‘Our free medicines scheme has been a great success,’ he said, adding so far 8 crore patients have been benefited from free medicines scheme, which was launched on Oct 2, 2011.

He said that under the scheme, the government is providing 600 types of generic medicines free of cost to patients in government run hospitals and dispensaries.

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 

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 

With inputs from IANS

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 

With inputs from IANS

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 

With inputs from IANS

Also, medical officers were asked to screen all school-going children for swine flu. The virus has claimed 148 lives in the state since April 2012 and over 800 people have tested positive for the disease. The Principal Secretary also said that apart from three government medical colleges, three private labs Dr Lal Labs, Aeroprob and SRL have been authorised to conduct medical tests to identify the virus. The government has also decided to purchase equipment to bolster the SMS hospital laboratory.

The state swine flu control room is also up and running 24 hours a day and people can seek information about precautions and symptoms from the control room at any time. Director of Medical and Health Dr BR Meena said that numbers of the control room are 2225624 and 2225000.  Apart from this toll-free number, 104 will also be available for the consultation of the flu and precautions that are needed to take for the infection. Teams from the department are also doing door-to-door screening to find infected people across the state.

revention

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

Rajasthan has by far been the state worst-hit by the virus. 64 deaths have already been reported in the state with Jaipur alone has 20 people who’ve died in the last 45 days. Since December, 450 people have succumbed to the virus in the state. The numbers of cases of swine flu have increased this year compared to last year.

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