Pune colleges shut for a week on swine flu scare

Schools advance monsoon breaks to ensure students’ safety.

A large number of premier colleges and educational institutions, including the Symbiosis International University (SIU), have closed their campuses for at least one week following the outbreak of swine flu infections across the entire Pune city.

Apart from SIU, the ILS Law College, the Mercedes Benz International School and MIT school of management (MITSOM) too have decided to close teaching activities for at least a week to avoid spread of the H1N1 virus among students.

The Pune city alone has reported more than 160 positive cases of H1N1 infection and the number is growing fast. Out of the infected people, more than 100 are students, which has become a cause of concern for the civic authorities.

The SIU has decided to close its main campus that runs the arts and commerce college and sees more than 5,000 students and visitors daily. A student from this college was found infected with the swine flu virus, following which the decision was taken, an SIU official stated.

The Bishop’s Education Society (BES), which runs three schools in the city, has also decided to close the schools between August 10 and August 19 as a precautionary measure. “We have advanced our monsoon break as we want to ensure that students are safe,” a statement issued by the school said.

Swine flu-hit Mumbai youth critical
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old youth admitted in a private hospital in Mumbai has tested positive for H1N1 virus and is in “very critical” condition, the manager of the medical facility said today.

Sandeep Gaikwad was admitted in L H Hiranandani Hospital in suburban Powai on August 3 and the swine flu infection was confirmed last evening, the hospital’s Manager Manish Joshi said. He is the first critical H1N1 patient in Mumbai.

“A team from the state government referral hospital — Kasturba Hospital — came last night to see his condition and decided to keep him here as he is on ventilator and very critical,” Joshi said.

Hiranandani Hospital CEO Sujit Chatterjee said Gaikwad was admitted with an acute respiratory distress syndrome (difficulty in breathing due to a serious ailment).

Pradeep Awate, swine flu in-charge at Maharashtra Health Directorate, said the government doctors who visited Hiranandani Hospital decided to keep the patient there and not shift him to Kasturba.

According to the directorate, 40 confirmed H1N1 cases were reported yesterday. A total of 77 positive cases are being treated in various government hospitals at Pune and Mumbai.