117 quarantined in Meghalaya

In an effort to contain the illness and contagion, the health authorities screened, prescribed medicines and quarantined 117 students, including 15 teachers of St Edmund’s school for a period of ten days, after a child tested positive for the virus in the campus.

The boy in question is Josuha Lyngdoh, a class VII student of the school who tested positive for H1N1 virus Saturday. He was in touch with Silvit Tongper, the first swine flu case detected in the region on August 11.

Director of health services K.H. Lakiang stated, “We want to make sure that the students and teachers who got associated with Lyngdoh are healthy and free from any symptoms of swine flu. Hence we screened all of them.”

Update of the influenza in Meghalaya
According to official sources, five more people in Meghalaya tested positive of H1N1 virus Monday.

These include Mariabiang Latang, who is under medical intervention at Sports Authority of India Hostel in Polo, Dolsius Syiemlieh, a ward attendant of Shillong Civil Hospital, R. Lyngdoh, a student who returned from Pune and the fifth case is a woman working in Pune.

“Three of the four new patients, whose throat swab sample have tested positive, are suspected to have contracted the flu from Silvit Tongper, a 17-year-old footballer who was the first one to test positive in Shillong,” said a health department official in Shillong.

Lakiang further disclosed that of the 16 samples sent to the National Institute for Cholera and Enteric Diseases in Calcutta only five have tested positive.

In addition, as a precautionary measure since Joshuha was undergoing treatment at home, the swab samples of his sister, Grata, 10, and brother, Jason, 3-and-a-half, were also sent to Calcutta for testing today.

“All the swine flu patients have already been admitted at the isolation wards of the hospitals in Shillong and Aizawl. Their condition is not that critical and there is no reason to be panicky,” said an official.

Measures adopted by the state government
To fight the emerging influenza, the state government has cautioned people to stay away from regions affected by the disease.

The health authorities also advocated treatment at home, provided public health updates were observed, preventive measures taken and alertness maintained for symptoms of the virus.

Medical specialists from the central health ministry are visiting the regions to train doctors and to supervise the treatment facilities available in the Northeastern states.

“Following the direction of the union health ministry, one hospital in each district of the seven northeastern states has been equipped to treat patients infected with H1N1 virus,” said A.C. Dey, one of the experts from New Delhi.