Pneumonia outbreak in China sends several Indian states into alert mode

As China reels from a rampant pneumonia outbreak, several states in India have been told to remain alert to check any likely similar outbreak.

The Medical and Health Department of Rajasthan has directed its personnel to stay vigilant and set up rapid response teams. The department's advisory urged officials to devise a plan for preventing and treating the disease.

While acknowledging that the current situation is not alarming, Additional Chief Secretary Shubhra Singh emphasized the need for medical staff to be vigilant in surveillance and prevention efforts.


Singh instructed officials to create an action plan within three days, appoint nodal officers at district and medical college levels, and establish rapid response teams at division and district levels.

According to the Additional Chief Secretary, children, elderly people, pregnant women and co-morbid patients are more prone to infection. Therefore, from the point of view of safety, the general public should be made aware to adopt necessary measures.

Rajasthan is also set to organise a mock drill to ascertain the capacity of the health facilities in the medical institutions of the state.

Gujarat, meanwhile, has strengthened the infrastructure created during the pandemic as a precautionary measure in view of a surge in cases of mycoplasma pneumonia and influenza flu in China.

Following the Union health ministry's recommendation for states and Union Territories to assess hospital preparedness, the Gujarat Health Department issued a similar advisory to civil hospitals, sub-district hospitals, Chief District Health Officers, and health officers of municipal corporations.

The advisory calls for both "active/passive surveillance" of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases. Hospitals are also instructed to ensure an ample supply of ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, antiviral medicines, and to make arrangements for setting up isolation wards if necessary.

The Karnataka Health Department also issued an advisory advising people to be cautious of the seasonal flu.

The flu, an infectious disease that typically lasts five to seven days, is known for its low morbidity and mortality rates. Symptoms include fever, chills, malaise, loss of appetite, myalgia, nausea, sneezing, and a dry cough that can last up to three weeks in high-risk people.