Swine flu: 3 confirmed,one suspected case reported

The Class X student of Springdales,Pusa Road,who displayed flu-like symptoms,was tested for the viral strain,and the results are still awaited. “The results will come in later this evening,” Dr Anjana Prakash,the additional nodal officer handling swine flu cases for the Delhi government,told Newsline.

The school has asked students from that particular section of Class X to stay at home. “We are trying our best to contain the spread of the virus. We have asked the students of Class X-A to stay at home and have also advised the students accompanying the child in the school bus to rest at home,so as to prevent any further spread of the strain,” principal Amita Wattal said.

Meanwhile,Anuradha Joshi,the principal of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya,said that all confirmed cases reported from her school earlier have been discharged. She,however,maintained that unless they get clearance from a doctor,quarantined students wouldn’t be asked to join school. “Without the doctor’s clearance,they can’t join school.”

Wattal,on her part,said closing the school is not the solution. “The virus can be transmitted anywhere,like tuition centres and other open public places,so closing down schools will not be a solution.”

Of the eleven cases,four caught the virus while abroad,while the rest caught it through human-to-human contact here.

Delhi Health department officials are saying they don’t want to create unnecessary panic among parents and students by issuing any guidelines or advisories. “We are monitoring the cases closely,things are under control,” an official said,adding there was a need to expedite results. So far,Delhi has registered 97 confirmed cases of the H1N1 strain. “Of these 97,79 have already been discharged,” Dr Prakash said.