Hours after Union Health Minister Sushma Swaraj toured the Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia hospitals to inspect the steps taken to treat Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, a new kind of pneumonia that has taken more then fifty lives around the world, officials of her ministry said there was no need to worry.
"We have not asked doctors, nurses and health workers to wear masks. Since no one suffering from SARS has been found in India, wearing masks would trigger panic," said Bhavani Thyagarajan, joint secretary in the health ministry.
She said that her department has prepared a form, which would be given to passengers coming from abroad. They would be asked to give details of the ailments that they have had in recent weeks.
Those arriving from 15 countries notified by the World Health Organisation are being specially screened for the virus.
"Those who are found to have cough and are running high fever will be taken to hospitals and treated. They will have to be under treatment for ten days in isolation. All hospitals have been asked to keep a few rooms ready to meet any eventuality," she said.
Dr Shiv Lal, additional director general, health services, said that a control room has been set up at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, which would monitor suspected cases of SARS from all over the country.
"So far we have not found even a single case. As a matter of precaution, a team of doctors is screening all passengers who are arriving at the four major international airports," he said.
Dr S Chung, head of the medicine department at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, said that a patient would take 2 to 10 days to develop SARS.
Thyagarajan said India had asked the WHO to send kits to detect the virus.
According to sources in the health ministry, one of the five Indians who had stayed in the Hong Kong hotel, from where the disease had emerged, had returned to India.
"Sorry, we are not saying where has this traveller landed. We are also keeping track of the other four Indian travellers. As and when they return to India we will track them down as well," he added.
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