KAKINADA: Swine flu has made headlines again as two kids from East Godavari tested positive for the infection last week. These cases were reported from Ramachandrapuram and Rajavommangi and confirmed by district medical and health officer (DMHO) Dr Satya Suseela and Kakinada Government General Hospital (KGGH) superintendent Dr M Raghavendra Rao.
Among the two, the boy from Eethapudi in Ramachandrapuram is five-month-old. He along with his parents had attended a function a week ago and since then has been suffering from cold.
The parents rushed the baby to the nearest hospital, but the doctors there suspected swine flu and advised them to shift the baby to the KGGH. The KGGH’s pediatric department associate professor Dr Mohan Chandran has been treating the baby under the directions of the Head of the Department Dr MS Raju.
The other patient is a one-and-half-year-old boy from Rajavommangi agency. He has been suffering with the virus for five days now. His family members had attended a function some ten days ago after which the kid developed cold symptoms. As per the local doctor’s suggestions, his parents arrived at KGGH and admitted the boy in the pediatric department. The doctors confirmed the two cases as positive following the swab test, which is available at the Microbiology department in Rangaraya Medical College, Kakinada. For the record, two persons had died of swine flue two years ago in the district.
Meanwhile, the district currently does not have the nodal officer for swine flu. When TNIE contacted the nodal officer for COVID-19 Dr Kiran, he said the government had given him responsibilities for only coronavirus. Till a year ago, Dr M Raghavendra Rao looked after the responsibilities of the swine flu nodal officer, but has since been relieved of those responsibilities.