Editorial
Swine flu is here
Put in place measures to contain it
Among about a hundred countries which have been afflicted by Swine flu, we are the last-named one. But the worrying thing is, it's spreading like wildfire as was apprehended by the WHO. We can not pass off with any lower risk rating for, the truth is, since the detection of the first flu case at the Dhaka airport on June 18 the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research has confirmed seven more cases in a matter of week. And those who came in contact with such affected in-bound passengers from the US, numbering around 30, have been placed under surveillance as part of the 'contact case tracing' initiative which is the right way to go about it. But we are on the world affliction chart.
Going by the reports of passengers, the screening at the airport is rather lax as some passengers are bypassing form-filling formalities and thereby the preliminary check-point. Greater supervision coupled with capacity-building is clearly needed in order that potential cases do not slip through the cracks of the system.
The Zia International Airport is under the spotlight so that its inadequacies get pointed out, but what of the 15 other screening points set up in the country to ward off entry of the virus? How prepared are they in terms of screening, now that arrivals of people in our territory with traces of Swine flu virus have actually been recorded. Perhaps, we should have more screening points.
Even so, for all intents and purposes, it is difficult in today's fast-track multi-modal communication context to mount surveillance on all entry points through land, air, sea and water routes. Thus, we have to settle for the fact and work on the assumption that there will be more Swine flu cases on our hands to deal with. And how we do it is what matters. While we go on stepping up screening and tracing efforts, the main focus from here on should be on management and mitigation of afflicted cases within a broader policy framework for containment. The fact that we have sufficient stocks of H1N1 anti-viral vaccine rather than making us complacent should drive us into a greater invigoration of efforts.
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