Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The deadly swine flu now seems to be heading towards north eastern states of the country as Mizoram and Assam reported fresh cases on Saturday.
Meanwhile, two more deaths in Karnataka today took swine flu toll across the country to 25 even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised all possible steps to control the spread of the disease.
Shivanna, 55, died at Wockhardt Hospital in west Bangalore and Manjunath, 28, in Vydehi Medical Institute in eastern part of the city.
Shivanna, a resident of Rajajinagar in west Bangalore, was admitted to Wockhardt Aug 12 after complaining of breathlessness. Manjunath, a weaver in Dommasandra on the outskirts of Bangalore, was admitted in a serious condition Aug 13, a Vydehi institute spokesperson said Saturday.
On Saturday, 165 people tested positive for the virus to take the total number of infected people in the country to 1,556, officials said.
At least 7,752 people have been tested so far, out of which 1,556 are positive for influenza A (H1N1). "Of the positive cases, 689 have been discharged," an official statement said.
In Delhi, health ministry officials said a total of 165 positive cases were reported in India Saturday. "Of the 165 cases, 97 are from Maharashtra, but none of them have a travel history," the statement added.
The other new cases were from Delhi (15), Kerala (13), Karanataka (12), Tamil Naidu (5), Kolkata (4), Shillong (4), Pondicherry (3), Mizoram, Gurgaon (2 each) and Gujarat, Goa, Hyderabad, Patna, Noida, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Faridabad (one each).
"All the cases reported from Delhi, Bangalore, Mangalore, Kolkata, Shillong, Mizoram, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Faridabad and Ahmedabad are indigenous cases with no known overseas travel history," the statement added.
Pune, the city worst-hit by the flu, reported 69 new cases.
Pune Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has said that more doctors and nurses are required in different hospitals in the city to tackle the menace of swine flu.
"Going by the number of patients admitted to different hospitals and people thronging at screening centres, we have asked the government to arrange for services of 100 doctors and 70 nurses in addition to existing staff at these hospitals," Pawar said.
Although the situation has come under control, it is not time for the authorities to relax, he said, adding that even rural hospitals and primary health centres have been asked to screen patients and prescribe Tamiflu to those with flu symptoms. Twenty-eight-year-old Manjunath became the third victim of the disease in Karnataka. He died yesterday evening at a private hospital.
Swine flu also knocked at the northeatern states’ door with Mizoram and Assam reporting their first cases while West Bengal registering witnessing total number of cases rising to 30.
Mizoram reported its first swine flu cases with two persons, including a CRPF constable, testing positive for the HINI virus, a top Health Department official said.
The throat swab samples of the male patients, which were sent to Kolkata for testing, were found to be positive, Dr N Pallai, Director of the Mizoram Health and Family Welfare Department said here.
"They were immediately quarantined in a ten-bed isolation ward specially arranged for possible swine flu victims at Falkawn Hospital, about 20 kms from here," he said, adding one of the victims was a CRPF constable posted at the Lengpui Airport near here.
The other had recently come to Aizawl by flight from New Delhi, he said, adding that doctors and nurses on duty at the lone Mizoram Airport were instructed to beef up vigil.
Mizoram government has began screening of incoming passengers at the Lengpui airport from early this week.
First case of swine-flu in Assam
An 18-year-old patient Saturday tested positive for Swine flu in Assam, the first such case in the northeast state.
Joint Director of the state`s Health Services Dr GP Sarma said the samples of the youth, who was admitted yesterday in the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) here, was sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at Lahowal in Dibrugarh.
"We have received the reports today and his samples have tested positive", Sarma said.
The health official said his residential address was given as Beltola, Guwahati.
The patient had been kept in the isolation ward of the MMCH.
This is the first of the 11 suspected cases of swine flu to test positive while the results of three others are awaited.
State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said the state was well equipped with medicine backups to combat any emergency.
Swine flu figure climbs to 30 in West Bengal
The total number of swine flu cases in West Bengal rose to 30 after two people in the southern fringes of Kolkata tested positive for the H1N1 virus Saturday, a health department official said.
"With these two, the figure of swine flu infection in the state climbed to 30 Saturday," Tapas Sen, the state`s nodal officer for swine flu, told reporters.
However, there has been no report of any fatality in the state so far.
According to health department sources, Abhradip Dutta and his sister Priyodarshini Dutta tested positive for swine flu and were admitted to the isolation ward of the M.R. Bangur Hospital Saturday.
Earlier, 12 confirmed positive and three suspected swine flu affected patients had been admitted in the Beliaghata Infectious Diseases (ID) Hospital.
A high-level meeting chaired by state Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty has also been scheduled Aug 18 to assess the swine flu situation.
Meanwhile, the state`s school education department had already issued advisories to the district school authorities about the essential measures required to be taken to combat the infection among children.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 177,457 swine flu cases have been reported till Aug 6, while 1,462 deaths have occurred worldwide, mostly in Mexico and the US.
(with IANS inputs)
