What a swine of a flu!

After the deadly SARS and the killer bird flu comes the rampant Swine flu. However much it was neglected in its prime, it has went on to be a cause of extreme worry and of utmost national significance in the recent time. Specially after the death of Rida in Pune, who was allegedly not medicated for the H1N1 virus. The family of the deceased has cried foul play and has sued the private hospitals, citing negligence by the doctors. Following the fatality, people in Pune are rushing over to government hospitals for a check up to determine whether they have contracted the disease or not. As I write this piece, there have been 118 cases of swine flu suspects in Pune and 23 new cases have occurred, throughout the country. And our doctors say that it is virtually impossible to test all the suspects as swine flu tests not only takes a lot of time (around 12 hours) but also is very expensive. Now is that a alibi? It clearly reflects the lackadaisical attitude of the government hospital medicians and also the failing, crumbling and corroding infrastructure of those units. Is a life more expensive than a swine flu test? And is Mr. Azad listening? I our country, A Mayawati can seek some hefty amount from the union govt to be sanctioned to her, so that she can build her own statues in UP,. But a frightened patient cannot ask for a swine flu test to be conducted on him or her as it is very expensive! I say, Hang the commonwealth games expenses. Is it more important than thousands of lives at risk? I fail to understand why has not the panic button been pressed in the govt quarters? Will it take a minister’s son to die for the government to take sufficient actions? I don’t want to sound moralistic but look at the condition of hygiene all around India. There’s filth at every corner. People are spitting, peeing and throwing rubbish on the streets! The basic civic sense is lost. A lot of it attributed to the lack of awareness among the common men, the self centered attitude of modern urban dwellers and a lack of proper laws to punish the miscreants. These are the reasons which set our country far far behind the superpowers of the world and other civic places in the world. Yesterday, a leading news channel did a sting operation on some of the government hospitals in the leading metros in the country and I was shocked to find the lack of proper medication, preparation and awareness among the staff there. Its shocking but its true! While some test departments are locked, there are docs in other govt hospitals suggesting the undercover reporter to go and visit the private hospitals for a check up. This Is when the government has clearly laid down rules that any suspect should knock on the doors of a govt hospital and proper care will be administered on the patient. I understand that tamiflu is not a sure shot remedy and India is trying to come up with the drug to cure swine flu by September (thy haven’t mentioned which year, though), but a simple test, no matter however it costs, should be conducted on individuals. Its high time, I believe. I hope it does not take another Rida for the Government and WE, US to know and realize this…