By IANS,
Shimla: A woman in Himachal Pradesh Sunday tested positive for influenza A (H1N1) virus, making her the first case of swine flu in the state, officials said.
“Medical tests of a woman from Shimla tested positive Sunday evening,” nodal officer Vinod Mehta told IANS.
He said the samples were sent to the National Centre for Disease Control (formerly National Institute for Communicable Diseases), New Delhi, for examination Aug 11 and test reports reached here Sunday.
“The swine flu patient has been quarantined at home,” he said. According to Mehta, the patient is showing symptoms of recovery.
“The patient recently returned from Ludhiana in Punjab,” the doctor said.
State Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said: “Keeping in view the possible threat of swine flu, isolation wards have been set up at the Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital and in all district hospitals.”
In India, 1,709 people have tested positive for influenza A (H1N1), of which 694 have been discharged from various health centres. About 25 people have succumbed to the virus in the country.