Laundry man at Pune's Dr Naidu Hospital faces grave risk of contracting HINI virus, according to health experts
Laundry man at Pune's Dr Naidu Hospital faces grave risk of contracting H1N1 virus, according to health experts
Sanjay Pardeshi (43), a dhobi at Naidu Hospital, risks his life every day when he washes clothes, pillow covers and bed sheets of the 200-odd H1N1 positive cases being treated there with his bare hands.
The Pardeshis, who have been living on the hospital premises for over 25 years, say they have never faced a condition as potentially dangerous.
"I have been working as a dhobi for the last seven years here. My mother was also a dhobi, as is my elder brother.
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In safe hands? Sanjay Pardeshi and his family, who have been working at the hospital for over 25 years, say they have never faced a condition as potentially dangerous. |
While I wear a mask and don gloves when I enter the swine flu ward, I wash clothes with bare hands in a sodium hydrochloride solution and Nirma washing powder, as we don't have washing machines," explained Pardeshi. "It is very inconvenient to wash all this laundry with mask and gloves on."
Dr Khusrav Bhajan, head, general medicine department at Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, says the dhobi runs a serious risk of contracting swine flu.
Virus lives for 8 hrs"The virus can live on an object for up to eight hours. Dhobis certainly could get infected from handling dirty handkerchiefs or bed sheets that carry respiratory discharge from the patient.
A mask would be of little use. They should wash their hands thoroughly before and after doing the laundry," Bhajan said.
Meanwhile, the Sassoon Hospital does have four washing machines and the staff wear gloves when they wash clothes from the H1N1 ward. Yet, they are as fearful of contracting the disease.
Safer side"We worry sometimes because we may handle clothes of an H1N1 infected person who has not been confirmed positive yet, especially when we are not wearing gloves," said a cleaner at Sassoon Hospital.
