No need to panic over swine flu, says Govt

Another person tested positive for the swine flu virus on Friday, taking the number of infected people in the country to 16, even as the government asserted that there was no need to panic since the disease was still containable in India. WHO’s has raised a ‘level six’ pandemic alert.

The latest case was from Hyderabad where a six-year old girl, who came back from the United States with her parents on June 10, tested positive for the virus. This was the eighth confirmed case from the city.

In order to ensure better screening of passengers, the government has decided to install thermal scanners at airports to detect people who were entering the country with fever.

The government has also asked Indian missions abroad to tell people having symptoms of swine flu to defer travelling to India.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad assessed the situation saying “I don’t think there is any need for panic so far our country is concerned. In view of the size and population of the country, the number of persons infected is too less and too small.”

Azad, however, added it should not be a reason for not taking any precaution.

His comments came a day after the WHO declared the disease as a pandemic, raising its alert to maximum ‘level six’ as more swine flu cases were reported from across the world, including India.

The government has also decided to centralise the stockpile of Tamiflu by sending it to seven locations across the country. The selected locations are Delhi, Karnal, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.

Besides this, all states have been assigned the requisite number of emergency protection kits.

The Centre said India is likely to develop a vaccine for the dreaded flu within the next four to six months.

The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Virology Institute have already isolated the virus and started work on developing the vaccine.