Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bio-terrorism and Disasters) Bill, 2008.
The bill is to replace the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897, in order to improve India's preparedness in combating a public health emergency like an epidemic or a bio-terrorism attack.
The bill clearly mentioned imprisonment of 2-7 years and penalty of Rs 2-10 lakh for malignant and intentional offences like intentionally letting viruses such as H1N1 spread.
It also gave the government powers of isolation, quarantine, disinfection, inspection and ban on sale, distribution, stocking and marketing of medicines or material which contained toxic substances.
States could also take measures like social distancing, closure of schools and markets on their own without consulting the Centre.
The bill also specifically listed 32 diseases and 34 bio-terrorism agents. The diseases specified include avian influenza, HIV, cholera, vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, rabies, small pox, polio, enteric fevers, SARS, plague, TB, typhus, yellow fever and measles.
The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, does not even mention present-day threats such as the H5N1 avian influenza virus or HIV that causes AIDS, because they didn't exist back then. Nor does it address issues such as negligence by doctors. This news becomes pretinence when there is a global flu pandemic and first A H1N1 death toll in india.
Swine flu :
Oseltamivir (trade name Tamiflu) is the most commonly sought drug for swine flu (AH1N1), since it is available in pill form.
