H1N1 virus spreading its tentacles at PGI

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25

With two doctors and kin testing positive, swine flu virus is spreading its tentacles at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here.

Dr Gaurav Aggarwal, nodal officer of the UT Health Department, confirmed that two doctors have been tested positive, while a five-year-old son of a doctor, who lives in Sector 15, also tested positive for swine flu yesterday.

He said a resident from Sector 37, who is admitted to a private hospital, has also tested positive.

While speaking to The Tribune, president of the faculty association of the PGIMER Dr TD Yadav said: “This is a necessary hazard and we are completely at a loss. The doctors are getting exposed due to huge influx of swine flu patients. What can we do if patients are coming to us? Our job is to treat them. For us, patients come first.”

Dr Yadav hinted that the situation was quite grim inside the PGI.

“The strain of virus is changing very fast. Old vaccines are not effective enough and we are looking for new medicines. It is a very precarious situation,” the doctor said.

Earlier, a nurse of the PGI has suffered from dengue, following which the Health Department had conducted an inspection and found dead pigeons and algae from the water tanks of the hospital.