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| SKIMS sounds Swine Flu alarm | | Govt reluctant to issue advisory | |
Early Times Report
Srinagar, Sept 2: Even as experts have officially conveyed to the Health department led by Chowdhary Lal Singh about outbreak of another spell of Swine Flu in the state in the coming weeks, the government is delaying issuance of much- needed advisory.
Highly placed sources said last week on August 22, the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura Director Dr Showkat Ahmed Zargar voluntarily approached the State Government that it was high time to issue advisory on Swine Flu "otherwise things could be chaotic in the coming months."
Sources said Zargar had contacted Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday seeking emergency meeting to decide future course of action in a planned manner. On Khanday's directions, sources said, the SKIMS held the meeting on August 24, which apart from others was attended by Director Health.
Insiders said the meeting resolved that Swine Flu cases could start coming in from this month end when temperate dips in the state. "It was resolved that there's a need to make people aware about the outbreak well in time so that everyone takes preventive measures without panic," said a SKIMS official who attended the meeting.
The advisory was expected to have been aired by now through print and electronic media. Sources said the Directorate of Health has approached Chowdhary Lal Singh who was yet to respond to this crucial issue.
Last year the Swine Flu outbreak proved deadly in JK. Around two dozen people died of the disease while half of the causalities were from Jammu province. Around a hundred people had tested positive for H1N1 virus in the Jammu region.
Though Kashmir region remained worst hit the winter capital was least prepared to combat the pandemic. While Kashmir is equipped with super specialty SKIMS, Jammu has no such facility.
Last year, the blame squarely went on SKIMS for having failed to timely apprise the government and people about the disease outbreak. SKIMS Director Showkat Zargar and his associate Dr Parvaiz Koul were accused of deliberately hiding the disease outbreak for their personal gains.
Though the SKIMS has state-of-the-art influenza testing laboratory, it was caught napping on the preparedness. Sources said it was only because of failure on the part of SKIMS that hospitals across the state including Jammu couldn't brace up to counter the outbreak.
Last year, the crisis remained so alarming that even the hospital doctors and paramedic staff, who have direct contact with the patients couldn't be timely immunized against the disease. The SKIMS had emerged as a hub of protests against the government failure.
This year though the SKIMS Director in a bid to save his chair volunteered to press the alarm bell, the Health Department has been sleeping.
Repeated attempts to contact Lal Singh couldn't bear fruit. |
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