ICMR designates AIIMS Nagpur as nodal centre for HINI study

Nagpur: With the rising Swine Flu cases in the state, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has selected the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur as the nodal centre to study H1N1 cases. ICMR has designated 15 centres in total and AIIMS is one of them. 

The testing labs have been designated through Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) ICMR-NICED which is a designated Regional Level (Grade - 1) laboratory under the VRDL network established by the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, as a part of the implementation of the Scheme "Establishment of a Network of Laboratories for Managing Epidemics and Natural Calamities" to strengthen the infrastructure of viral diagnostics in India.

Around 25 tests are to be conducted every week and ICMR has made SMS Medical College in Jaipur the referral laboratory for genetic analysis.

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Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that Mumbai had witnessed more than 80 confirmed cases in the first week of August adding to 200 cases in total. In addition, H1N1 cases have surpassed last year's tally by 42.6%.

If a person experiences the symptoms of the Swine flu including fever, cough/sore throat/throat irritation, body ache, headache, diarrhoea/vomiting, then treatment should not be delayed because it leads to complications and risk of death said the health official.

Dr Meena Mishra, professor and head, of the department of Microbiology, AIIMS, Nagpur, told TOI "The patients are screened using Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) case definition. ILI cases are screened from OPD of primary health care centres and community healthcare centres whereas SARI cases are screened from patients admitted in tertiary care centres only. Under this study, we check for influenza A/B and its sub-typing. Also, we detect the antiviral drug resistance for oseltamivir."

She said "VRDL has also procured test kits to cater to OPD cases and admitted patients as caseload has increased. Under VRDL funds, we have procured 200 kits."

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