H1N1 continues to spread, media advised to exercise restraint
POSTED August 14, 2009 - 06:46 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Priya Markanda on August 14, 2009 - 10:05
An increasing number of people are contracting the dreaded influenza with each passing day making the flu infection spinning out of control in the country. To make the worst fears come true, the death toll is steadily creeping up.
The present scenario
On Thursday, 90 fresh cases of H1N1 were reported from various parts of the country taking the tally of those affected by the lethal virus to 1,284.
Out of the fresh infections, 43 cases were reported from Pune,
18 were reported from Mumbai, 9 from Bangalore and 16 from Delhi. Kolhapur accounted for two cases while one case each was reported from Mangalore and Gurgaon.
The swine flu has sniffed lives out of 22 people in the country with a nine-month-old infant and three women becoming the latest fatalities.
Worst hit
Out of these 22 deaths, 65 percent or 14 deaths have been reported from Pune, the epicenter of the pandemic in the country.
The biggest apprehension now is that "clusters of H1N1" are emerging in the city of Pune. This means that groups of people, either working together or living together, could start getting infected by the influenza at the same time.
Talking of why the pandemic has reached alarming proportions in Pune, Union health ministry officials said, “The state (Maharashtra) didn’t take contact tracing seriously. By the time it started, the virus had already got entrenched in Pune and had spread."
The tough balancing act
The administration and the media alike, are facing the tough task of spreading awareness about the swine flu virus and at the same time ensure that this understanding does not lead to pressing of the panic button.
To further the aim of quelling panic the Information and broadcasting ministry officials have urged the TV channels to exercise prudence while coving news stories pertaining to the pandemic and avoid creating hype and fright regarding the same.
"We have conveyed our concerns to leading media organizations, including TV channels. We have no issue with creating awareness, but we have told them not to create panic about swine flu," an official of the information and broadcasting ministry said.
There was no advisory issued in the matter, however, the message was conveyed to the News Broadcasting Association, an industry group of news channels, informally.
