Source: dailypioneer.com
PATNA: Lab report of Chhapra native who was kept in the isol ..
A 25-year-old Ranchi man pursuing PhD in China has become the first suspect of Coronavirus in Jharkhand, albeit only on the basis of the fact that he was in China when the mysterious virus was first reported. The suspect, whose identity is undisclosed, got admitted in the isolation ward of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) hours after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Novel Coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.
However, he refused to stay at RIMS and insisted that concerned health authorities keep a medical watch on him while he is allowed to stay at home. “The man has not shown any symptoms of the viral infection yet. However, we have sent his samples for lab test and kept him under observation as he was in China during the Coronavirus outbreak,” said Rakesh Dayal, Jharkhand Director of Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
RIMS Superintendent Dr. Vivek Kashyap said that the man’s samples of mucus and saliva have been sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) in Pune and the hospital authorities were waiting for the results. “We have sent his samples to the laboratory for tests. Although he wanted to stay at home and we allowed him to leave, we have kept him under surveillance,” said Kashyap.
RIMS has set up a five-bed special isolation ward to admit patients suffering from symptoms similar to that of Coronavirus in Ranchi. Since the airborne virus can enter a person’s body through his respiratory tract and is considered highly communicable, the suspected patients at RIMS will be kept at the isolation ward. “If needed, we will arrange for more beds and a bigger isolation ward only for suspected cases of Coronavirus,” Kashyap said.
Health Minister of Jharkhand, Banna Gupta on Friday told media persons that health department was ready with all necessary measures for dealing with the health emergency. “We are taking the matter seriously and have made necessary arrangements to deal with the emergency,” he said.
The first case of Novel Coronavirus in India was reported from Kerala on Thursday. The patient who tested positive in Kerala was also pursuing higher studies in Wuhan University in China and probably contracted the virus from there. The IDSP has been in constant touch with the suspect in Ranchi in order to ensure necessary interventions in case he complains of symptoms similar to that of Coronavirus patients.
So far, India has screened around 45,000 passengers arriving from China and one positive case has been detected. China on Thursday saw 38 new deaths due to the virus, taking the death toll to 170 worldwide.
People traveling to Jharkhand from countries affected by Coronavirus will be kept under surveillance for at least 28 days since landing in Ranchi, IDSP students have said. The surveillance will be a part of the State’s precautionary mechanism to curtail the spread of the airborne virus in Jharkhand. Jharkhand has also sounded a precautionary alert for Coronavirus, which infects the respiratory tract of patients and causes symptoms similar to common flu.