Four more swine flu deaths take India’s toll to 135 (Roundup)

NEW DELHI - Four people, including two in Goa, died due to swine flu Monday, taking India’s total toll to 135, health authorities said here.

Also, 147 fresh cases were reported in the country, taking the number of people affected with the flu to 4,885.

Apart from Goa, one death each was reported from Delhi and Karnataka.

In New Delhi, 69-year-old Durga Prasad Sharma died due to the swine flu Monday afternoon.

“He was admitted to the hospital on Aug 28. He had bronchial asthma for the last 18 years and suffered from renal failure. Though he was not in a critical stage, his condition was bad from the beginning,” N.K. Chaturvedi, medical superintendent of the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital, told IANS.

Sharma, who was on ventilator and undergoing dialysis, was the fourth victim of the flu in the national capital.

He had first gone to a private hospital before being shifted to the RML Hospital. “His x-ray report had confirmed pneumonia. He had tested positive for the virus,” Chaturvedi said.

A 12-year-old girl, suffering from respiratory problems, was critical and on ventilator at the hospital.

Meanwhile, 34 fresh cases were reported in the city, taking the total affected with the flu to 843 - the second highest in the country.

Three public schools in Delhi were also closed down for a while following detection of the swine flu cases among their students.

While the Vishwa Bharti Public School in Dwarka was closed for two days, the Heritage Grove Public School in Vasant Kunj and Banyan Tree School in Lodhi Colony were closed for a week.

In Bangalore, a 29-year-old woman succumbed to the influenza A (H1N1) virus. She was 20 weeks into her pregnancy.

Karnataka reported 15 fresh cases, taking its total number to 579 - the third highest in the country.

Maharashtra, which tops the list of the states with the maximum deaths and cases, confirmed 32 fresh cases, taking the total number of people affected with the virus to 1,855.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad noted that swine flu is here to stay and will spread despite best efforts, but the country is controlling it by early detection, proper treatment and creating mass awareness.

He said authorities have “learnt some lessons” while tackling the spread of the disease that has become a global pandemic.

“The key to control its spread is early detection, complete treatment of confirmed cases and communicating with public at large to create awareness,” Azad said at the 27th meeting of Health Ministers of World Health Organisation (WHOs) South East-Asia region and the 62nd Regional Committee Session of the WHO South-East Asia Region in Kathmandu.

“The virus is here to stay and will spread despite our best efforts to prevent its spread,” the minister said, according to a statement issued here.

Azad said India focussed on contact tracing of suspect patients and also early diagnosis and treatment.

The minister said they enhanced the laboratory testing capacity and formed rapid response teams of doctors drawn from national, state and district levels.

“The number of labs equipped to test for the influenza-A (H1N1) disease was increased from two to 41 in the public and private sectors within a short span of time,” he said, adding that doctors and paramedical staff were trained to build diagnosis and treatment capacity.

“India is taking adequate measures to enhance core capabilities at all levels to contain the spread of infectious diseases through border and community surveillance, early warning and detection systems, enhancing hospital preparedness to provide better healthcare facilities and stockpiling of anti-virals and personal protective equipment,” he said in his address to the health ministers from the region and top WHO officials.

Azad offered India’s help to countries in the region by “cooperating” with them in dealing with the pandemic.