Swine flu claims 15 in Gujarat, 5 in Haryana and 2 in Delhi

The dreaded swine flu seems to be spreading across the country with more deaths and an increase in the number of affected people reported from Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi and Telangana while Tamil Nadu has sounded alert on a possible spread of the pandemic.
 
With three more swine flu deaths in Gujarat on Friday the toll due to the disease in the new year rose to 15.

Meanwhile, 5 persons have succumbed to swine flu in Haryana in the past few days out of a total 29 patients, who have been tested positive for H1N1 influenza so far, state health officials said.

Another 2 died in Delhi, taking the death toll in the national capital to five while 26 people tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

In Gujarat 12 new cases of swine flu were reported on Friday, taking the total number of H1N1 infection cases to 104, said the state health commissioner J P Gupta.

Gupta and chief secretary D J Pandian today rushed to Bhuj in Kutch with as many as 50 swine flu cases reported so far in the district alone, said Gupta.

"To speed up the detection, the state government has decided to install a testing facility in Bhuj. It will save crucial time," he said. Gupta, Pandian and other senior officials also visited the G K General Hospital in Bhuj. "We would be deploying five more doctors and ten nurses at this hospital. We will also equip a hospital in Gandhidham for the treatment of swine flu," said Pandian.

In Haryana, health officials said 29 positive cases of swine flu have so far been come to light of which five casualties have been reported.

In New Delhi, a 53-year-old woman from Chattarpur died at Ram Manohar Lohiya hospital, while a 50-year-old woman from Patel Nagar passed away at Safdarjung hospital, officials said.

Also, 26 people tested positive for the virus, taking the number of cases to 199 this month.

In Telengana, swine flu continues to affect people in and around Hyderabad with 50 more positive cases recorded.

Sources say chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has publicly expressed displeasure over the handling of the situation in the state, was planning to replace health minister and deputy chief minister Rajaiah.

Apart from the health department's failure to respond quickly to the situation, the chief minister is also unhappy with his deputy over alleged instances of corruption and irregularities involving officials of the department, say reports.