HYDERABAD: The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) is ready for testing the samples in swine flu cases. The IPM officials are learnt to have successfully cleared the preconditions set by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) to become the first `Swine Flu
Diagnostic Lab’ in South India.

According to sources, the IPM officials have already reported to higher officials in the Health
and Medical Department on their ability to accurately test the samples.

The officials are to submit a report to Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy during a review meeting to be held in a couple of days. The `Swine Flu Diagnostic Lab’ at the IPM is likely to be operationalised by this weekend.

``The Chief Minister will announce the operation of the Diagnostic Lab officially during the meeting on swine flu,’’ said a senior official in the Health and Medical Department.

Till date, the doctors
of the Government Chest Hospital had to send the throat and nasal swabs of suspected swine flu patients to NICD at New Delhi wait for at least two days to get a final report. The operation of the Diagnostic Lab at the IPM will save time and also airfare for transportation of the samples to New Delhi, which was about Rs 2,000 for each sample.

The efforts of the Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB) for establishing another diagostic centre on its premises by next month, is in progress.

Meanwhile, two new cases of the A H1N1 Influenza were confirmed in the State today. Both cases were indigenous cases with no history of foreign travel, according to an official release.

There’s no need to worry on the safety or efficacy of the anti-swine flu vaccines being currently developed in different countries, said the World Health Organization.


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Taking notice of the fears being expressed in different quarters on the safety or risks in using the vaccines, the WHO said the regulatory procedures in place for the licencing of pandemic vaccines, including procedures for expediting regulatory approval, are rigorous and do not compromise safety or quality.

Drug companies in several countries are in an advanced stage of developing a H1N1 influenza vaccine to check the swine flu pandemic which has swept across over 160 countries, affecting over 1.5 million (confirmed cases; actual number may be far higher) and killing nearly 1,000 persons. In India, too, over two dozen people have lost their lives due to swine flu in recent weeks, in different cities.

Some Indian drug companies are also engaged in developing a swine flu vaccine based on the seed strain of H1N1 influenza virus provided by the WHO. However, it may take a few months to develop and test the vaccines and get approval for their general use.

In a statement issued from Geneva, the WHO has said: “Influenza vaccines have been used for over 60 years and have an established record of safety in all age groups.”

At the same time, it has also cautioned that some adverse events may arise during a pandemic when the vaccine is administered on a massive scale.

“Some adverse events, which may be too rare to show up even in large clinic trials, may become apparent when very large numbers of people receive a pandemic vaccine,” the WHO has said, while maintaining that such cases will be rare.

It has observed that nearly 50 million people had died in the 1918 world-wide influenza pandemic, largely because vaccines had not been developed by then.

When senior citizens become depressed, agitated, or show signs of dementia, it is often difficult to know what the best ways to keep them healthy and happy are. Before you consider long-term care as a solution, there are things you can do to keep your loved ones in their homes.

According to the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP), nearly 20 percent of those who are 55 years and older have mental disorders that are not part of normal aging. Some of the most common illnesses are anxiety, severe cognitive impairment and mood disorders.

Jeffery Lafferman, M.D., a psychiatrist at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital's Partial Hospitalization Program and Outpatient Services, says that too often mental health illnesses are underreported. "As people age, their health needs become more complicated. Medical problems, such as high blood pressure and arthritis, are common and can mask the emotional challenges that the elderly face, until it has reached a critical stage."

But there is help and hope available. One of the ways to keep an elderly loved one at home for as long as possible when they are experiencing depression, dementia, agitation and other emotional challenges is through day treatment programs.

"Some adult day services programs are specifically designed to help elders relearn how to again be a useful part of their communities. The programs have group and individual therapy sessions in a stimulating environment. In addition, participants can reminisce with people their own age, take part in activities designed to renew their enthusiasm for life and be in their own homes in the evening," says Dr. Lafferman.

Many people do not understand that clinical depression and other mental illnesses are treatable. Some of the symptoms to look for are a change in personality, a decline in memory, isolation from friends and family, excessive feelings of guilt or hopelessness, frequent crying, sleep problems, unexplained physical illnesses, loss of function, changes in appetite, loss of interest in personal hygiene and irritability, and anxiety.

However, Dr. Lafferman advises, "Before you entrust your loved one to any program, try to visit to see with your own eyes what the program is like. Although your elder loved one needs supervision, his or her dignity must be preserved. In addition, check to see if there are medical professionals on site, and if there are different therapies to engage them."

When a loved one is experiencing emotional issues, it can also affect the whole family, so giving caregivers a break during the day is also important.

Research published this week in a leading medical journal says that based on current evidence, which is limited and not easily generalized to children in the current swine flu epidemic, the antivirals oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) are unlikely to prevent complications in children infected with swine flu.

The study was led by Dr Matthew Thompson, senior clinical scientist at the University of Oxford, UK, and appears online in the 10 August issue of the BMJ.

Children are a high risk group during seasonal flu epidemics, which typically affect 40 per cent of pre-schoolers and 30 per cent of school age children, who are also the main route of transmission into households, said the researchers.

They went on to explain that the current control strategy for treating patients who get the flu and preventing its spread includes use of antivirals because vaccination coverage is often low and there is not enough time to make vaccine and get it to everyone who needs it because it's a continual race against emerging strains.

The last time this strategy was examined was in 2005 which is why they decided to do a new review and re-assess the benefits and harms of antivirals.

For this review Thompson and colleagues pooled and re-analyzed data from randomized controlled trials of the neuraminidase inhibitors oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) in treatment of children with seasonal influenza who were treated at home (ie not hospitalized).

They found that the antivirals provided a small benefit by shortening the duration of illness by a day and a half, and they reduced transmission in households, but they had little effect on asthma flare ups, increased ear infections and the likelihood of children needing antibiotics. Tamiflu also carries an increased risk of vomiting.

The effects of these drugs on the incidence of serious complication and the current A/H1N1 swine flu strain remain undetermined, they wrote.

For their analysis they reviewed data from published and unpublished controlled trials. They searched well known registeries, consulted with manufacturers and authors to make a comprehensive list of the trials.

They then selected only those trials that were randomized and controlled, assessed neuraminidase inhibitors in children aged 12 and under who were treated in the community (that is, not in hospital), with confirmed or clinically suspected influenza and did a systematic meta-analysis where they re-analyzed the pooled data.

The main measures of effectiveness that they looked for were how long it took for the illness to resolve and how many children in the households involved caught the flu.

After applying the eligibility criteria, the researchers found a total of four trials testing the antivirals in children treated at home for the flu. Two used Tamiflu (oseltamivir ) and two used Relenza (zanamivir). Between them the four trials covered 1,766 children (1,243 with confirmed influenza, of whom 55 to 69 per cent had influenza A).

They also found another three randomized trials (one with Tamiflu and two with Relenza) that tested the antivirals for postexposure prophylaxis (ability to prevent flu). These covered a total of 863 children.

The researchers emphasized that none of these trials tested the effectiveness of the two drugs against the current pandemic strain of swine flu.

After reviewing the results of these trials, Thompson and colleagues found that:

* The treatment trials showed a reduction in median times to resolution of symptoms, or return to normal activities, or both, of between 0.5 and 1.5 days, but this was significant in only two trials.

* Treatment was not linked with a reduced use of antibiotics.

* In the three postexposure prophylaxis trials, a 10 day course of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) resulted in an 8 per cent decrease in the incidence of symptomatic influenza (the 95 per cent confidence interval ranged from 5 to 12 per cent).

* Based on only one trial, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) "did not reduce asthma exacerbations or improve peak flow in children with asthma".

* While zanamivir (Relenza) was well tolerated, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was linked with an increased risk of vomiting.

The authors concluded that:

"Neuraminidase inhibitors provide a small benefit by shortening the duration of illness in children with seasonal influenza and reducing household transmission. They have little effect on asthma exacerbations or the use of antibiotics."

"Their effects on the incidence of serious complications, and on the current A/H1N1 influenza strain remain to be determined," they added.

New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) India Tuesday reported 119 new cases of swine flu, highest so far for a single day, taking the total number of the infected people to 1,079. Three people - one in Gujarat and two in Maharashtra - succumbed to the infectious virus, taking to 10 the toll in the country, the health ministry said.
Among the new cases, Pune reported 62, Mumbai 24, Delhi 15, Manipal 2, Ahmedabad 1, Bangalore 4, Nagpur 3, Osmanabad 1, Nashik 1, Goa 1, Hyderabad 2, Thiruvananthapuram 2 and Jammu 1.

Of the 15 cases reported from Delhi, only one has a travel history. The 19-year-old man had returned from Manila via Hongkong.

Among Pune’s new cases, one had returned from Saudi Arabia and the 61 others are indigenous cases.

Mumbai reported 24 cases during the day, two of whom have travelled from abroad. All other cases from Maharashtra are indigenous. All cases from Karnataka are from local contract.

While Ahmedabad reported one indigenous case, the patient in Goa had returned from Spain. Of the two cases in Hyderabad one patient has a travel history. The case in Jammu had returned from Mumbai and Pune. One of the two cases in Thiruvanathapuram has returned from Doha.

So far 5,000 people have been tested, of whom 1,079 are positive for influenza A(H1N1). Of the total cases, 589 have been discharged and 10 have died. The remainder of them are admitted to the identified health facilities.