set up outside Pune, in cities like Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik.
A division bench comprising justices Dilip Sinha and Prasanna Varale took serious cognisance of unabated spread of the H1N1 influenza-A virus in other parts of the state and more persons getting affected by it, while making these observations. Earlier, petitioner Kirti Nipankar, a lawyer, who was standing in-person, informed the court about alarming increase in the number of swine flu cases by presenting latest statistics on patients. She attached various newspapers clippings on the subject alleging that the government has failed miserably to control the disease. She also informed the court of first death of a patient in Nagpur due to swine flu.
She further pointed out that the two testing centres in Pune are already overburdened and reiterated her prayer to set up more testing centres in prominent cities of Vidarbha like Nagpur, Amravati, Chandrapur, Gondia and Yavatmal. The court then adjourned the hearing till Friday as the government pleader Nitin Sambre was not present.
During last hearing, the state had informed the court that they were acting as per World Health Organisation (WHO) norms and had screened 13.20 lakh people in Mumbai and 5,961 in Nagpur for the disease. The affidavit filed by additional chief secretary for public health Sharvari Gokhale informed that they were making all out efforts to control the deadly disease by making available more isolation wards and beds for the patients. In Nagpur, they had increased 10 beds in Government Medical College and Hospital and four in Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital.
According to petitioner, swine flu has taken a form of an epidemic and it is responsibility of the government and medical officers to take immediate steps to stop it from spreading its tentacles. She prayed for installing screening facilities at public places like railway and bus stations, to keep the city clean, and to quarantine the people testing positive for H1N1 virus. She has also stressed on the need to take steps to control the disease like free distribution of masks, check-up facilities, setting up of local testing centres and easy availability of the medicines for all patients.
Nipankar had stressed on the urgent need to set up protection mechanism and control the death rate. She pointed out that as there was no facility to test the suspected cases, the samples were sent to Pune, where the two institutes having this facility are already overloaded. The tests are taking over a week's time which may prove fatal in case of serious patients.
0 comments:
Post a Comment