The number of swine flu infection cases rose to 117 as 13 more patients with H1N1 virus infection were detected on Tuesday, according to the IEDCR.
‘We have identified 13 more patients carrying the [H1N1] virus,’ the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research director, Professor Mahmudur Rahman, also the director of the National Influenza Centre, told New Age on Tuesday.
He said the number of swine flu patients rose from 104 on Monday to 117 on Tuesday.
He, however, said most of the 117 cases were mild and many patients had already recovered from the disease. ‘We are worried for a three-month-old child who is in a critical condition.’
A swine flu suspect case is defined when an individual runs temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius or more accompanied with cough, sore throat, or shortness of breath, according to the IEDCR. A H1N1 case can be confirmed only after laboratory tests, he said.
He suggested people suspected of suffering from swine flu infection should be examined in designated hospitals in Dhaka and general hospitals in districts.
The government has kept ready several hospitals for the treatment of swine flu patients. The hospitals are Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital (Mitford Hospital), Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital, Chest Hospital and Infectious Diseases Hospital at Mahakhali.
Physicians of Sarkari Karmachari Hospital, Mahanagar Shishu Hospital and Primary Health Centres of the Dhaka City Corporation have also been trained to deal with swine flu patients, the IEDCR director said.
Eight more city hospitals, public and private, will be equipped early next week to deal with swine flu cases, according to the IEDCR.
The eight hospitals are Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University hospital, National Medical College Hospital, BIRDEM Hospital, Bangladesh Medical College Hospital, Dhaka Shishu Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, Shahabuddin Medical College Hospital and Uttara Adhunik Hospital.
With two more deaths, the swine flu death toll has reached 76 in neighbouring India, union health ministry officials said in Delhi.
One hundred and thirty-seven fresh cases of swine flu infection were reported from Indian states, taking the total number of swine flu infection to 2,909.