Swine flu: Experts stress on precaution

Special Correspondent

SILCHAR, March 18: It was an informative and educative health awareness camp organized by Students’ Health Care Centre (SHCC) of Radhamadhab College here today in the college auditorium. Along with that an annual news letter of the Centre was released. The awareness camp attended by ENT specialist Dr. Chinmoy Choudhury and well known doctor of medicine, Dr. Satya Ranjan Bhattacharjee, focused mainly cancer, its symptoms, causes and preventive measures and on the dreadful swine flu which has been assuming mecing form in some parts of the world and also affecting India. Its tentacle has also spread in the state of Assam and has become worrisome for the people and the health department.

 Dr. Satya Ranjan Bhattacharjee speaking before the students, teachers and distinguished guests threw light on relevant aspects of swine flu. He said it was first in the city of Mexico in 2009 that the virus was detected. In the city of Hyderabad in India the same year its virus came to light. Within six months of detection, the virus spread across 100 countries. He cautioned about its symptoms which indicate influenza fever, blood infection, vomiting, joint pain, diarrhea, body aches among others. He advised anyone having such symptoms to contact the health centre or the doctor.

 Precautions by the patient were therefore quite essential and others around should also adopt them to avoid infection. In fact, a swine flu affected patient has to be quarantined. Apart from what Dr. Bhattacharjee said, more information as provided by Wikipedia can be shared here for one’s knowledge. H1N1 flu is also known as swine flu. It’s called swine flu because in the past, the people who caught it had direct contact with pigs. That changed several years ago, when a new virus emerged that spread among people who hadn’t been near pigs.

 In 2009, H1N1 was spreading fast around the world, so the World Health Organization called it a pandemic. Since then, people have continued to get sick from swine flu, but not as many. While swine flu isn’t as scary as it seemed a few years ago, it’s still important to protect oneself from getting it. Like seasol flu, it can cause more serious health problems for some people. The best protection is to get a flu vaccine, or flu shot, every year. Swine flu is one of the viruses included in the vaccine.

 Swine flu is contagious, and it spreads in the same way as the seasol flu. When people who have it cough or sneeze, they spray tiny drops of the virus into the air. If one comes in contact with these drops or touch a surface (such as a doorknob or sink) that an infected person has recently touched, one can catch H1N1 swine flu. Like seasol flu, swine flu can lead to more serious complications, including pneumonia and respiratory failure. And it can make conditions like diabetes or asthma worse.

 A lab test is the only way to know for sure whether a person is affected by swine flu. Some of the same antiviral drugs that are used to treat seasol flu also work against H1N1 swine flu. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zamivir (Relenza) seem to work best, although some kinds of swine flu are resistant to Tamiflu. These drugs can help a person get over swine flu faster. Antibiotics won’t help, because flu is caused by a virus, not bacteria.

 Dr. Chinmoy Choudhury, who is the Chairman of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, dealt with the causes, symptoms and cure of cancer. He said cancer if detected early can be cured. Medical science has advanced much to make the treatment with the help of sophisticated and latest technology easy and fast and to provide relief to the patients. If any of the symptoms as elaborated by him is found, the person concerned should immediately contact the health centre or direct Cancer Hospital for treatment.

 Others who spoke on the occasion included Dr. Gautom Dey, senior medical health officer, Dr. Jagadish Mazumdar, GB president, Dr. Pray Ranjan Deb, Principal of the College. Ashima Roy, Convenor, Students Health Care Centre, gave a brief all about the Centre which since its inception in 2003 has been organizing health camps for the benefit of both teachers and students by inviting experts on different areas of specialization.

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