By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net,
Srinagar: A high alert has been sounded in Jammu and Kashmir with two deaths as a result of H1N1 (Swine Flu). Informed sources said that Sher E Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) administration is downplaying the crisis to prevent a panic. Sources said more than 300 people were scanned for the disease since late last year. By now more than seventy people have tested positive and it includes patients who were on medicine.
Sources identified the dead male as Irfan Rashid of Habbak and the female as Qureshi Madina. While Rashid died in surgical ICU, Madina breathed her last in the medical ICU at SKIMS.
Meanwhile most states of India are in grip of worst ever Swine flu outbreak in five years. The Flu has claimed 624 victims from around 9000 cases reported till February 18th. In states where awareness is lower, deaths are higher. Over the past three days, 100 people have died of the feared infection, with Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh reporting the highest deaths.
Bihar has reported no cases or deaths, which reiterates better surveillance is driving up the
number of swine flu cases in states with a good health infrastructure.
Three more patients died of swine flu over the past last 48 hours in Nagpur, taking the death toll in the region to 32 since January 15 this year. Uttar Pradesh has reported 10 more cases since February 15. In all, 115 of the 388 suspected cases from across 13 districts have tested positive for H1N1 influenza. Till Tuesday, Lucknow alone had 78 cases and three deaths. Among the worst hit states, Telangana has reported 1,068 positive cases and 46 deaths this year.