Kollam: As many as three patients died and 14 others diagnosed with H1N1 in Kollam in November, according to recent statistics with the health department. The department has intensified surveillance and set up isolation wards in major hospitals for handling the situation. It has also issued a warning for the public to be alert to prevent further spreading of the disease.
Some 124 patients who sought treatment at various hospitals in the district were monitored to confirm 14 cases of the disease.
"In the first stage, the disease appears to be ordinary fever with throat and body pain. This could worsen if symptoms of suffocation and chest pain prevail in these patients," said V.V. Sherly, district medical officer.
In such patients, it has been observed that they develop a condition in which the saliva contains blood stain and very low blood pressure. Suffocation and unrelenting body temperature might lead even to death of the patient, she added.
The health department has issued directives to keep personal hygiene to prevent the spread of disease. The patients should avoid travelling and mingling with the public. The disease is spread through secretions including saliva and hence the patients should practise holding their mouth during sneezing and coughing. The hands should be washed using soap.
The department has also set up throat swab for collecting samples in ten major hospitals in the district. The secretion from throat is sent to Manipal centre for virology research and National institute of virology's Alappuzha unit for diagnosis.
