Swine flu claims ten lives

World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad also hit by the swine flu scare
Hardnews Bureau

The swine flu death toll went up to ten even as panic spread across the country. Even the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad was hit by the swine flu scare. A Malaysian coach for the doubles was admitted to a local government hospital here after showing symptoms of the viral disease.

A doubles player of Thailand pulled out of the men's doubles match against India after he complained of fever. He was taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, a 63-year-old woman and a seven-year-old girl succumbed to the infection in Pune and Vadodara respectively on Tuesday.

Shahida from Pune was admitted to a Mumbai hospital where she later died. The virus was detected only after her death. Earlier, one more death of a 13-year-old girl was also reported from Sasoon General Hospital in Pune hours after a chemist had succumbed to the virus in the same hospital.

So far, five people died of swine flu in Pune alone. The victims also include an ayurvedic doctor. Deaths have also been reported from Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

Ninety-five laboratory confirmed cases have been reported with Pune reporting the maximum number of infected people (47) followed by Mumbai (22) and Delhi (14).

Meanwhile, panic is spreading faster than the disease. Government in Maharashtra has ordered the closure of schools, colleges and shopping malls in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly virus. Some schools have also been shut in Delhi after some children were diagnosed with the virus. Corporate sector giants have reportedly advised their employees to avoid travelling outside the country. Long queues were reported at hospitals with people lining up to get themselves tested.

On Monday, a high-level meeting was convened by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to take stock of the situation. It was decided that screening would continue at airports with the number of thermal scanners increased from the existing four. The stock of Tamiflu will be raised to two crore tablets. It was also decided to rope in private laboratories who fulfill the guidelines to add to the otherwise inadequate diagnostic capacity of the country, learnt Hardnews.

Simultaneously, it was decided to double the testing capacity of the existing 19 laboratories, wherever possible.

Teams of senior officers from the government of India will visit each state to assess their preparedness in terms of isolation capacity and clinical assessment in hospitals, both government and private.

Meanwhile, swine flu has been reported as the fastest growing pandemic by the WHO with cases being reported from over 165 countries.

The H1N1 virus belongs to the family of influenza or flu viruses with major structural differences. This virus has taken its components from the human flu virus, the bird flu virus and the swine flu virus making it difficult for humans to develop immunity.