Congress protests over rise in swine flu deaths in Madhya Pradesh

Congress party on Thursday staged a protest outside state Health Minister Narottam Mishra's residence over the rise in swine flu deaths in Madhya Pradesh.

Almost 44 people have died in the state due to swine flu and 66 others have been tested positive for the deadly virus.

Congress Party workers demanded Mishra's resignation, criticizing him for not taking control of the situation.

"Our demand is that all the government and private hospitals in Madhya Pradesh should provide with proper medical facilities. There should be immediate ban on selling of fake medicines. The false research information published in newspapers to take into confidence the people of Madhya Pradesh should also stop and Narottam Mishra should resign because many have died in the state due to swine flu," said a Congress worker, Monu Saxena.

The virus has killed 191 people in the country in January alone, with Telangana state being the worst hit. So far, 2,038 people have been afflicted by the virus in India.

Swine flu is caused by H1N1 virus. H1N1 symptoms are similar to those produced by other influenza viruses - fever, cough, sore throat, body aches and respiratory problems.

Symptoms for swine flu include high fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain and internal and external bleeding. It is transmitted to people primarily from ticks and livestock animals with an incubation period of up to nine days. Human-to-human transmission takes up to two weeks.