The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : More laboratories for A(H1N1) tests needed

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Monday, Aug 17, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

More laboratories for A(H1N1) tests needed

Staff Reporter

Long queues at RGICD leading to anxiety

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

ANXIOUS: People waiting for A(H1N1) test at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Bangalore on Sunday.

BANGALORE: A large number of people continued to throng the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) here on Sunday even as two cases of A(H1N1) deaths were reported in the city since Saturday night.

Anxious people, who waited in long queues, were dissatisfied that Bangalore had only one centre for the health test even as the number people queuing up for the tests were increasing.

Ravi Kumar, who was in the queue from 9 a.m. to 2.30 p.m., said, “With passing time, the patient’s condition will definitely worsen. After the samples are collected, they are sent to another location for tests. The test results have to be sent back to the hospital. Why can’t the Government have more locations that are capable of providing results soon after the tests?” he asked.

Ganesh Iyer, an employee in a city-based multi-national company, said that he came for the test on August 11 and stood in a queue which had 300 people. “I was informed that my results would take a maximum of 48 hours to be declared. It has been almost a week now and I still have not got my results,” he said. He said that he was unsure of what he should do next. “My condition has not improved and I have to sit outside the hospital every day,” he said.

L. Suresh from Mallige Mahabodhi Hospital was concerned about the rising panic at his hospital. He said, “Over the past two days, panic-stricken patients have been coming to the hospital. We have only one confirmed case, who has now been admitted. We have begun the prescribed treatment. There are enough kits available and we are reassuring people that the situation is under control and manageable.”

Mallya Hospital, which still has not received kits, has started treating patients. “There is one confirmed case that we are treating now. With every passing day, the number of patients who come in for the screening is gradually increasing,” said a doctor at the hospital.

Apollo Hospital screened around 100 patients on Sunday. A doctor from the hospital said, “We have admitted one patient who tested positive for A(H1N1). There are also six suspected cases in the hospital, and we are awaiting their test results.” The doctor also added that the patients were really upset about the fact that the results were taking a long time to be declared.

Meanwhile, according to health authorities, 670 swabs were collected across the State.

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