Swine flu treatment costs soar amid ECMO machine shortage

Bilaspur | Correspondent: The number of swine flu cases in Bilaspur is on the rise, but the hospital lacks a critical piece of equipment—the ECMO machine—needed for treating severe cases.

Shockingly, no government hospital in the entire state has this facility.

So far, three people have lost their lives to swine flu in Bilaspur, and 23 more patients are currently hospitalized.

The Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), the largest hospital in the district, does have a virology department to treat swine flu (H1N1).

However, it does not have an ECMO machine, which is crucial for severe cases.

ECMO, or Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, is a process where blood is pumped outside the body into a heart-lung machine.

The machine removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen before returning the blood to the body.

Unfortunately, no government hospital in the state is equipped with this machine.

Recently, when a patient’s condition worsened in Bilaspur, they were referred to a private hospital in Raipur.

The estimated cost for ECMO treatment there was a staggering ₹50 lakh, with the possibility of the cost rising even further.

If government hospitals had this machine, treatment would be far more affordable.

However, with ECMO machines only available in private hospitals, the expense is beyond the reach of most people.

Patient’s increasing, vaccine remains unavailable

Swine flu is a respiratory illness caused by the influenza type – A virus, which can spread via air.

Currently, 23 patients are undergoing treatment. A 4-bed swine flu ward has been set up at CIMS, the largest government hospital in the region.

However, apart from the ventilator no other facilities are available.

Treatment is limited to the Temiflu tablets, even private hospitals are relying on CIMS for the medicine.

Despite swine flu being a viral disease, CIMS does not have enough vaccines available.

While vaccines are generally used as a preventative measure before an outbreak, none are currently available at the hospital.