Karnataka healthcare department is gearing up to carry out a clinical study on the pattern of spread of the H1N1 virus causing swine flu. The findings of the study will help mapping a pattern that can alert both the doctors and the patients. The private hospitals have been asked to share the clinical data of patients' blood samples to facilitate a collective analysis of the high number of deaths in the state.

The state health department has appointed Usha Wasunkar, director, Karnataka directorate of Health and Family Welfare to head the clinical study committee of experts. Other members of the committee are Dr V Ravi, had, department of Neuro-Virology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Dr TS Chelavuraj, joint director, communicable diseases, Karnataka Directorate of Health and Family Welfare and Dr Shashidar Buggi, director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases.

The experts will study the reason for each of the deaths. The audits will reveal whether there was a delay in administrating Tamiflu. It will also look into the clinical conditions.

The study will assess the cases and the deaths along with the treatment modalities case by case. "The clinical audit will avert the panic. We are also collecting the details on pneumonia and other seasonal flu. In fact seasonal flu is more dangerous than H1N1," said Dr Ravi.

The Central government decision to sell Tamiflu via retail outlets is still pending. It is also assessing its stocks before it makes it available at the chemist outlets.

In the area of carrying out the test samples, a decision is pending with the state governments to permit more number of labs. Currently, in Bangalore only NIMHANS is testing but Kasturba Hospital attached to the Manipal Group at Manipal in Karnataka is the second authorized centre. Although there are seven to eight labs which have applied, the state government is in the process of verifying the capability and standard of the diagnostic centres. The Command Hospital in Bangalore which caters to the medical needs of the Armed Forces and their families has proved its expertise in carrying out the tests which were validated by NIMHANS and has been approved to test the samples.