Delhi govt. takes measures to tackle Swine Flu menace

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Wednesday announced the various steps taken by the state government to tackle Swine flu menace in the capital.

The health minister said that the government has doubled the stock of Swine Flu medicines and has asked over 25 hospitals to help the government in tackling the disease.

"Delhi government has doubled stock of medicines to address swine flu situation and roped in 25 hospitals including private ones," Jain said.

He said that the government has set a ceiling price across the national capital which the laboratories can charge for conducting Swine Flu tests.

"State Government has issued an order to all laboratories across Delhi setting upper limit of swine flu test charges at Rs. 4500," the minister said.

The government has also setup a helpline number to provide information regarding Swine Flu.

"Helpline number has been issued, you can call on 22307145 for any information on swine flu," Jain said.

The death toll due to swine flu has now crossed the 600 mark across the country with Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra being the worst-affected states. At least 100 more casualties were reported in just three days since February 12.

In Maharashtra, at least 50 people have succumbed to the H1N1 virus, taking the total number of cases registered to 352 since January this year. Two people have also died in Kashmir due to swine flu.

The death toll in Delhi and Tamil Nadu is comparatively low even though the disease is wide spread.

Swine flu is caused by H1N1 virus. Symptoms for swine flu include high fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain and internal and external bleeding.