Friday, Apr 11, 2003
Friday, Apr 11, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu-Chennai
By T.S. Shankar and Ramya Kannan
When the Singapore Airlines Flight SQ-410 landed in the Anna International Terminal from Singapore, a 62-year-old passenger, who had spent a couple of hours in the Changi airport in transit turned himself in at the special health cubicle, complaining of fever and cough. With the index of suspicion high, considering the global alarm on the disease, airport health authorities directed the passenger to the CDH after a primary health check was conducted. An ambulance was provided for the passenger to be taken to the hospital. A panel of doctors at the hospital examined him and found him to be suffering from `pharyngitis'. A blood sample was also taken. "It was merely suspicion. However, the passenger did not suffer from high fever or respiratory distress," according to the Director of Public Health, P. Krishnamurthy. The passenger was later discharged and has been advised `home isolation'. "We will watch this particular patient and also monitor entry points. Facilities have been provided, including oxygen cylinders, defibrillators and ventilators. We are fully prepared to tackle any emergency," according to the Chennai Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Health), Apurva. Meanwhile, in tune with the WHO and Union Ministry of Health guidelines, procedures are being followed at both the airport and the Chennai Port. Passengers who fly in from Southeast countries will have to fill up a `health status' form along with the immigration form. The `self-declaration health' form indicates the symptoms of SARS and requires the passenger to make honest replies. The passenger is also asked if he/she has been to any of the 14 countries listed on the back of the form. In case the passengers report characteristic symptoms such as high fever, cough and trouble with breathing, they will be escorted to the special examination cubicle where chest examination will be done. If there is sufficient cause for suspicion, the patient will be sent by ambulance to the CDH or the GH. The team at these hospitals will be briefed in advance about the arrival of the patient and will be prepared to isolate him/her if necessary. At these referral hospitals, provisional diagnosis will be done and a blood sample will be drawn and chest X-ray done. If required, a team from the round-the-clock SARS cell working at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in New Delhi will fly down to the city to collect the blood sample, to test for SARS positivity. Confirmatory clinical test for SARS is currently possible only at the NICD and the National Institute of Virology, Pune. Till such time as is required for the confirmation, the patients will be treated for their symptoms, given doses of antipyretics, antibiotics, antivirals and put on the ventilator, in case of emergency. Meanwhile, a meeting was convened by the Chennai Airport Director to tone up airport health facilities, in view of daily flights coming in from Singapore. Representatives of all airlines and user-agencies participated and they were briefed on how to handle situations arising from the SARS threat, on board and on ground. Four flights from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore land in the Chennai airport on a daily basis and this was sufficient reason to be prepared, according to airport sources.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
