PM calls for coordination with states to check swine flu

The death toll has risen to four after a 43-year-old NRI succumbed to the disease in Ahmedabad on Sunday

With the number of swine flu deaths going up and criticism of the government’s handling of the disease mounting, Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh today stepped in, asking the health ministry to coordinate with the states to contain further spread of the disease.

The degree of panic among people and ‘a fear of the unknown’ because of scanty information about the disease is contributing to anxiety, government sources said.

The death toll due to swine flu has risen to four after a 43-year-old NRI succumbed to the viral infection at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad early this morning. The deceased, Praveen Patel, had reached Ahmedabad from Atlanta about 10 days back.

After 14-year-old Pune schoolgirl Reeda Shaikh became the country’s first swine flu victim, Sanjay Tukaram Kokre, a 42-year-old teacher, and 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala, died yesterday in Pune and Mumbai, respectively.

Singh spoke to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad this afternoon and asked him to take steps to educate people about the disease.

PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) sources said the prime minister had told Azad to set up a panel of experts and doctors to spread correct information about the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.

Singh also said the health secretary should coordinate with state-level secretaries to contain further spread of the disease.

Azad told the prime minister that the country had enough stocks of Tamiflu tablets used to treat swine flu.

“Consignments of 100,000 Tamiflu tablets have been flown to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore,” he told reporters here.

The government has also decided to make available at least 10,000 tablets in each district for immediate requirement, Azad said.

While every state has been asked to open a helpline to inform the people about the disease, the health ministry is also launching a website in this regard, the health minister said.

Meanwhile, a five-member central team is visiting Pune, one of the places worst hit by the swine flu.

The number of swine flu-infected people across the country has risen to 782. Altogether 511 patients of the total cases have been discharged after treatment, the rest are being treated in stipulated government hospitals.