>Should you wear a face mask? Is it safer to keep your child at home if a few of her classmates are down with flu? When should you take antivirals? Would it be better to cancel a trip to a country that has a high incidence of H1N1? How is Swine Flu different from Novel Influenza A (H1N1) are some of the questions which everyone seems to need immediate answers to.
Responding to the H1N1 crisis, the Public Health Foundation of India, a Public Private Partnership, has launched a new website on H1N1 culling information from informed and credible sources and presenting it in a simple, uncluttered and easily navigable format. An attempt has been made to address some of the key concerns of the general public through a public information website, which will be continuously updated with facts, situation analysis, reports, studies and developments in India and globally.
The site, apart from listing help lines, testing and isolation centres has information on specific categories including travellers, parents and caregivers, pregnant women, day care facilities and schools and other vulnerable populations.
“Our priority was to create a friendly site that presented factual and relevant information. In the wake of the highly publicised deaths, there was a virtual deluge of warnings, FAQs and debates, creating a sense of panic as also misinformation amongst the general public. We hope the website will allay fears while simultaneously equipping people with practical, doable inputs on protection, prevention and treatment,” says, Dr K Srinath Reddy, President, PHFI. The site can be accessed on http://phfi.org/h1n1flu/index.html
