Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Dr Jose D'Sa is new nodal officer for swine flu
TNN
PANAJI: The government on Tuesday replaced Dr Rajendra Tamba as its nodal officer for swine flu following his comments on the lack of funds for
the project. He has been transferred to the rural medical dispensary at Chorao.

Dr Jose D'Sa, health officer with the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, has been appointed in his place. D'Sa took over the additional charge on Tuesday.

Tamba, who has also been stripped of the post of state epidermologist, earned the state government's ire after he released a media statement claiming that the state's swine flu monitoring programme was facing a financial crunch.

"The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted," Tamba had said.

Maintaining that there was no dearth of funds for the programme, health minister Vishwajit Rane said on Monday that such statements by the nodal officer could portray a wrong image of the state across the country. "It was not right to make such a statement. It was against the interest of the state," Rane said.

TOI had reported over a fortnight ago that Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients.

Goa has so far recorded six confirmed cases of swine flu and has set up two facilities to isolate the suspected and confirmed patients.

August 05,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Laughable that Mayabhushan who moderates the blog Penpricks and writes for IANS went on misquoting the minister.

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health1/goa-to-invoke-epidemic-act-to-tackle-swine-flu_100227871.html

Panaji, Aug 5 (IANS) Goa will invoke the Epidemic control Act (ECA), 1897, to curb the spread of influenza A (H1N1) once the state’s busy tourism season gets underway in October, Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane said Wednesday.
Rane’s announcement comes barely a day after the Maharashtra government invoked the act in Pune and Satara districtS after a 14-year-old Pune schoolgirl died of swine flu.

“Maharashtra has invoked the act because there are thousands of international guests arriving at its (Mumbai) airport. We don’t feel it is required for Goa at this moment. But once the tourist season starts we will put this act into effect,” Rane told reporters here.

The epidemic act gives health authorities the power to forcibly admit and treat any swine flu patient at a government-run hospital.

“If this (swine flu) is not controlled worldwide, Goa will have to enforce the act once the tourist season starts,” Rane said, adding that Goa receives tourists from all over the world, including from countries particularly affected by swine flu.

After the terror strikes in Mumbai last year eclipsed Goa’s tourist season, the swine flu pandemic could possibly deplete the arrivals in 2009-10. Goa receives nearly two million tourists in an average year, out of which about 400,000 are foreigners.

There are presently seven swine flu patients under quarantine in Goa.

Recently, the state nodal officer for swine flu Rajendra Tamba was transferred to a rural dispensary after he questioned the efficiency and the will of the state health department when it came to handling the swine flu outbreak.

10:41 am

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