Swine flu

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TWO leading English medium schools in Dhaka city, according to reports in the media published on Sunday, have shut down for an indefinite period amidst fears that the number of swine flu cases might increase in the country. Experts, however, said the swine-flu situation in the country does not warrant such drastic steps. Swine flu was noticed first in 1918 and that time it was called Spanish flu, which had spread globally killing over 50 million people in various countries. A lot of panic has been created in the last several days after a couple of people tested positive for swine flu in Bangladesh. The latest about swine flu infection in Bangladesh is that the number of reported cases has gone up to 87.
Of that number, 32 have been fully cured and the remainder receiving follow-up treatment. Reports from neighbouring India speak of the affliction widening; and an alert declared in the Indian states, is albeit a cause of concern for us. There is no cause for people becoming so panicky. Following media reports, the people's panic has been caused by ignorance and it is unnecessary. There is no need for them to wear face masks. The situation is, actually, not that bad. For example, doctors and experts while addressing a seminar said that in India two people die of tuberculosis every three minutes, 6,301 die daily due to heart troubles. While diabetes claims the lives of 2,740 daily, about 290 people die due to tobacco-related diseases every day. So, the disease may be contagious, but there should be no reason to be highly panicky. A (H1N1), is just one of the many viruses in the environment.
One worrisome dimension of the swine flu situation is that it's at level-2 now inasmuch as several cases have been detected in the community via cluster identification. The chances of exposure are greater there as the latter is internal, introverted. It is now for the people to come forward to inform the health professionals with any symptom of flu they have contacted, besides, of course, maintaining personal hygiene meticulously.
Avik Sengupta
Biochemistry
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
avik.sengupta@mail.mcgill.ca