LAHORE: The government has moved the Punjab Healthcare Commission to seek action against a known private hospital in Lahore for violating the Standard Operating Procedures in attending a swine flu patient.

The step has been taken because the hospital management did not inform the health authorities about the presence of the swine flu patient.

Read: Sargodha resident dies of swine flu

Syed Altaf Husain Sherazi of Sargodha who was getting treatment at Doctors Hospital, Lahore, had died of the swine flu on Monday.

The department later officially notified the first death by swine flu in Punjab in 2015 on the basis of the reports which tested the patient positive for the H1N1 virus.

Quoting preliminarily inquiries, health director general Dr Zahid Pervaiz told Dawn the patient might have contracted the virus from the wild birds as he was fond of hunting.

According to the brief history of the patient, he did not visit any country during the last some months.

Mr Husain’s family members told the health experts that hunting was his favourite hobby.

‘Deceased was fond of bird hunting’

Dr Zahid said the experts had sent blood samples of nine people, including his four family members who remained in contact with him during his treatment period.

He fell sick on March 31 and was taken to a local general practitioner in Bhalwal, Sargodha district. Later, he was shifted to a private hospital in his hometown when the disease continued to spread. The family of Mr Altaf took him to Doctors Hospital on April 5 where he was provided treatment for pneumonia.

“We were alarmed when a specialist doctor of Doctors Hospital who was attending the patient contacted the health department for the provision of temiflu tablets which were used in prevention of the disease,” Dr Zahid said adding a team of experts was dispatched to the hospital immediately. The experts later reported to the health department about the presence of suspected swine flu patient at the hospital.

The WHO experts were called who later sent blood samples of the patient to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, which confirmed the virus.

He said the patient, however, succumbed to the virus on Monday.

He said the health department had referred the case to the PHC against the hospital management for violating the SOP and WHO guidelines.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2015

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