Reacting over the "Flu"

Practically everyone knows the incompetence by which India has dealt with the Influenza Type A – H1N1, which, is more commonly known as swine flu. A travel abroad has just made that belief stronger and has highlighted the laidback attitude of the government and our so called health officials.
In the last ten days besides the Indian airport I have been to the Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong airport as well. Before disembarking at Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong a detailed health form which included questions on ones travel itinerary for the past one month, health related queries and also if one has been in contact with anyone suffering from the disease. On entering the airport not only was the form but also we were visually examined before getting clearance to go past immigration. Beefing up the scrutiny even further were sensors placed at the gates which would beep when anyone with the slightest amount of fever even passed.
As though these measures weren’t enough Hong Kong even went a step further. Chinese aren’t particularly known for their sweetness in nature, and can give some of the meanest looks which kind of make you uncomfortable even though most of them are some 5 feet nothing. Having said that, the airport is filled with their health officers who don’t even wince before taking you on the side and stuff a thermometer down your mouth if they suspect you even the slightest bit. If by any chance one does have fever no amount of reports or explanations will stop them from quarantining you and on top of that the language issue. However, even with all these precautions no one is deeply inconvenienced and at least there is a sign of seriousness in tackling the issue.
Now coming to Chatrapati Shivaji airport, Mumbai. Even here before disembarking a form needs to be filled. However, if you first questions answer i.e. “Have you visited U.S.A., Mexico or Canada in the last ten months?”. If your answer happens to be no the rest of the form can be left empty. On disembarking the flight we have to walk in a single file to the health officers. Trust me the line is awfully slow, maybe they should learn something from the immigration officers. The slowness of the line gets even more irritating after you have passed the health check. The reason being, the masked health officers don’t even glance at your face to see if you have any symptoms and neither do they read the form you have filled. They just very conveniently flip over to the page they are to sign, sign and let you proceed.
Now with this apathetic attitude towards this epidemic how do we really plan on stopping the disease, especially since we know that most of the carriers are people who have come from abroad. The difference in tackling the issues in other countries compared to ours shows why at least they can control the situation and we can’t. Pondering over the issue won’t help its action that leads to a reaction.