At 'ground zero' of swine flu, key drugs are in short supply
Press Trust of India / Pune Oct 17, 2009, 13:14 IST
As it continues to play a pivotal role in the management of swine flu patients in the worst-hit Pune and Western Maharashtra, the government-run Sassoon Hospital here is now facing shortage of drugs needed for supporting those put on ventilator.
While stocks of tamiflu prescribed for H1N1 virus are adequate to treat the pandemic, certain antibiotics and other anti-virals given to critical patients suffering from acute respiratory distress are in short supply, according to official sources.
The viral disease has so far claimed 80 lives in the city, the highest in the country.
The hospital authorities, for the last one week, have been asking the patient's relatives to buy certain drugs from outside to tide over the situation.
Confirming the shortage, Dr Arun Jamkar, Dean of the hospital, the biggest referral centre for Western Maharashtra, told PTI that the problem had arisen due to the technical ceiling on local purchase of individual drugs.
The authorities had already floated tenders for 5 to 6 selective drugs that had been used on a larger scale since the outbreak of the viral infection.
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