Merchants of Fear

Acharya suspects foul play (DHNS)

Could there be a role of business lobbies connected with masks and medical test kits/ unconfirmed treatment modalities in creating a scare among people on swine flu? This thought came from Home Minister V S Acharya, who felt that these lobbies could be misleading the people by creating a scare to spurt sales of the products.Dr Acharya, a registered doctor, who has been practicing medicine for the last four decades, felt that wearing a mask will not help in preventing infection. Similarly, Tamiflu tablets had severe side effects.He also wondered whether western tourism lobby is behind painting a scary situation in the country to prevent tourists from selecting India as their destination. He said the H1N1 virus had only been christened recently and could have been in the community for years. Many could have been infected by the virus and even developed anti-bodies in their system. Those who have already been infected will test positive for the virus because of the presence of the anti-bodies in their system, he said.