13 more test positive for swine flu in Kashmir

Toll rises to 84, patients kept in isolation

Thirteen more persons have tested positive of swine flu in Kashmir, taking the toll of people infected with the disease to 84, with no new death reported so far, health officials said today.

"Thirteen new patients have tested positive for H1N1 virus and have been admitted to the hospital," Head of Department (HoD) of Medicine, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Parvaiz Kaul said.

Kaul, who is also in-charge of the Influenza Project in the state, told PTI that the new patients have been kept in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

"We have kept the patients in isolation and are monitoring their condition regularly," he said.

The doctor said the hospital was receiving many patients suspected to be infected with swine flu, and tests were being conducted on them to confirm whether they were positive or negative.

"We are conducting tests on the suspected patients and those infected have been admitted to the hospital and are being treated," he said.

With these 13 new cases, the total number of people in the Valley who tested positive for the swine flu virus has climbed to 84. However, no new death has occurred due to the H1N1 virus, Kaul said.

"There have been two deaths of the patients infected with the virus," he said.