By IANS,
New Delhi : Two swine flu deaths in Karnataka and one in the national capital were reported Monday, pushing up India’s Influenza A (H1N1) virus toll to 191, health authorities said here.
Also, 220 fresh swine flu cases were reported in the country, taking the total number of people affected so far with the flu to 6,359.
In Karnataka, a patient died in Bangalore and another in Kolar, taking the state’s toll to 64, a health official said.
A 29-year-old woman admitted at a private hospital died in Bangalore Saturday, and a 60-year-old man died of the virus at a private hospital in Kolar Sep 4.
However, the report confirming that they tested positive for the virus was received only on Sep 13, the official said.
In the national capital, health authorities confirmed that a three-year-old boy, who had died Sunday, had succumbed to swine flu.
“The boy was admitted to the Bara Hindu Rao Hospital a few days back and he died on Sunday,” state Health Secretary J.P. Singh told IANS.
With this death, the toll from the H1N1 virus in New Delhi has gone up to five.
In Bangalore, where the number of swine flu death is going up drastically, the municipal corporation Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in association with the health department launched a door-to-door surveillance drive.
“We are adopting a random method. We pay random visit to houses in a particular community and check the health conditions of all the members of the particular family,” said a state official.
“A set of questions are also being asked to each family, to verify their current health status. We’re also acquiring random samples from members of houses suspected of having influenza symptoms,” the official added.
The survey will be extended to other parts of the state from which swine flu cases have been reported.
In Andhra Pradesh, Health Minister D. Nagender told reporters that an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, who is a collector of a district, had tested positive for swine flu.
He declined to reveal the official’s name but some TV channels identified him as Nalgonda district collector S.A.M. Rizvi. He is being shifted to Hyderabad for treatment.
The health minister said it has been decided to set up six more screening centres in Hyderabad besides one screening centre in each district.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, who reviewed the situation at the Gandhi Hospital Sunday, said that in view of the high cost of testing – almost Rs.9,000 per individual, the government has decided to include swine flu in the package of Aarogyasri, the health insurance scheme for the poor.
Health Secretary L.V. Subramanyam said that as the majority of the 319 people found infected were poor, the government has decided to include it in the Aarogyasri package. “This package enables even the BPL (below poverty line) ration-card holders to take swine flu treatment which costs upto Rs.60,000 per person.”
The fresh swine flu cases were reported from Delhi (85), Maharashtra (49), Tamil Nadu (31), Haryana (24) and Karnataka (14).