3 more test positive for swine flu

A day after the first swine flu death in Himachal at Shimla,the government has geared up to tackle the threat of H1N1 virus and launched a community awareness drive across the state. Three more people,meanwhile,tested positive for swine flu in the state on Tuesday. Two of them,residents of Shimla and Junga,have been admitted in the isolation ward of Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla,while the third patient,a resident of Kullu,is under treatment at a private hospital in the town and is stated to be stable.

Dr Vinod Mehta,surveillance officer of the state Integrated Disease Surveillance Project,said: “The condition of the two patients admitted in Shimla is comparatively poor and they are under treatment. The three patients are in the age group of 23 to 56 years. The one who belongs to Shimla has a history of travel to Chandigarh.”

He said Principal Secretary,Health,P C Dhiman contacted health institutions in all districts through videoconferencing and asked the chief medical officers and district ayurveda officers to launch an Information Education Communication Programme with the community to check swine flu across the state.

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With the virus posing high risk of transmission in this weather,the health authorities have advised the people not to take flu-like symptoms lightly and immediately report to hospitals.

Dr Ramesh Chand,the medical superintendent of IGMC where 22-year-old Guddi Devi died of H1N1 on Monday,said they had already got additional supplies of medicines and masks.