No swine flu death, says A.P. government

The Andhra Pradesh government has denied any swine flu deaths in the State. So far 92 positive cases have come to light, of which 89 patients have been treated and released from the Government Chest Hospital in Hyderabad.

Children being checked for swine flu, at H1N1 Flu ward in Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, in Bangalore. Photo: K Murali Kumar.

The Andhra Pradesh government declared on Saturday that there had been no deaths in the State due to swine flu.

Health Secretary L.V. Subramaniam told reporters that the State had so far reported 92 positive cases, of which 89 patients had been treated and released from the Government Chest Hospital in Hyderabad. Only three persons were quarantined and being treated now.

He appealed to the media not to publish or broadcast any unconfirmed news as it was leading to a scare among people.

Eight other hospitals had been designated as nodal centres for identifying and treating swine flu patients in the State capital, he said. Every district headquarters hospital had made arrangements for having a 10-bed isolation ward also.

The Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) here would be supplied with diagnostic kits for testing samples of patients having swine flu symptoms. However, these would be 'proficiency tests.' The National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) would also conduct the confirmatory tests. Once the NICD and IPM test results matched, the IPM would take up testing on its own, reducing the burden on the NICD, officials said.

Panic over report

A panicky situation prevailed on Saturday morning when some TV channels began flashing news that a trader from Hyderabad died of swine flu in the Government Chest Hospital. Authorities were quick to deny the death was due to swine flu and appealed to the media not to flash unverified information.