As swine flu death toll crossed 600, the Centre is issuing 10,000 more licences to chemists to sell Tamiflu, the antiviral used to treat the influenza, and other Schedule X drugs, whose distribution is controlled.
The Health Ministry gave the directive to the Drugs Controller General of India to increase the retail availability of Tamiflu. Licences to sell Schedule X drugs will be issued across 17 States affected by the influenza, including Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana within two days, Jagdish Prasad, Director-General of Health Services, told BusinessLine .
Just on Monday, 884 new cases and 38 deaths were reported across the country. Considering the alarming situation, the Centre has decided to procure one lakh more doses of Oseltamivir, the generic version of Roche’s antiviral Tamiflu. About 10,000 were sent to Gujarat.
With more licences, the number of chemists able to sell Tamiflu in Delhi alone will rise from just a couple to over 500. Schedule X covers drugs made of narcotic substances and by putting Tamiflu in the same category, the Centre has kept the drug’s distribution under control.
According to a source, the increased retail supply will be by local drug-makers who will make Oseltamivir.
Increasing numbers With 9,311 confirmed cases and 624 deaths since the break out of the swine flu epidemic, the Centre has decided to allow more private retailers to stock Tamiflu and paediatric syrups. The medicines are available free of cost in government hospitals and dispensaries. A small number of private chemists also stock the medicine.
The Ministry has asked hospitals to start treatment for swine flu on “high suspicion” rather than wait for more symptoms to show up, Prasad added. To prevent exposure to unaffected in-patients, all hospitals would set up a separate out-patient department, he said.
“Swine flu is here to stay. The only thing is that it will reduce during summers and pick up again after September,” Prasad said, adding that patients need to be more aware of the disease and reach hospitals on time. In Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, patients are reaching hospitals very late. If patients get medical care on time, the flu is easily treatable,” he said.
Though Delhi has recorded the third-highest incidence of swine flu (at 1,608), the State has seen only six deaths. In comparison, Gujarat has had 1,781 cases and 150 deaths; Rajasthan 3,016 cases and 176 fatalities; and Maharashtra 530 and 72 respectively.