DHAKA: Forty more deaths due to contagious swine flu were reported in India taking the toll to 703 as the virus continued to spread its tentacles to new states, including Mizoram, with the number of cases crossing the 11,000 mark till Friday.
This prompted Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth to chair a high-level meeting during which he asked the states to ensure setting up of necessary help-lines and round-the-clock functioning of outbreak monitoring cells.
Those infected with H1N1 virus are 11,071, a new high in recent years, with number of cases showing increase in states Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Telangana. While officials maintained that there was no dearth of medicines and hospitals were equipped to deal with swine flu, the death number continues to pour-in from states.
Seth, while chairing a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee to review the swine flu outbreak in the country, also directed drug controllers of states to ensure availability of necessary vaccines, along with guidelines for vaccination and treatment protocol.
“The Cabinet Secretary stressed that the states should ensure that the outbreak monitoring cells and necessary helplines function round-the-clock. The drug controllers should ensure availability of necessary medicines such as tablets, capsules and vaccines, along with guidelines for vaccination and treatment protocol,” the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
After the meeting, Seth said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has instructed that there should be no shortage of medicines and patients should get necessary treatment. All assistance will be provided to the states to deal with the situation, he said.
Meanwhile, a teams of experts from the Ministry visited states of Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra to extend technical support.
The Ministry has asked states to study patterns in mortality such as which areas, age groups and section of people have been most affected, in addition to deaths due to co-morbid conditions.
According to Delhi government officials, 1,789 swine flu cases have been reported so far and six people have died due to this disease in the city, which has granted licence to 40 new drug stores to sell Tamiflu tablets for treatment of swine flu in the national capital.
The city government has ordered all private medical labs not to charge more than Rs 4,500 to carry out tests for the viral disease. The move comes following complaints of several patients that tests are being conducted at exorbitant rates in the city’s private labs, reports The Indian Express.
BDST: 1456 HRS, FEB 20, 2015
