With more cases of swine flu being reported from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in the last 24 hours, authorities on Monday suspended all classes in the university and its affiliated schools till February 25. The decision was taken at an emergency meeting of top officials presided over by Acting Vice-Chancellor Brig S Ahmad Ali. All events in AMU, including seminars, workshops and meetings of executive council scheduled during this period, have been postponed till further orders as a precautionary measure. However, all offices, including academic departments, hospitals and other institutions will continue to function and teachers would report to duty as usual, AMU spokesperson Rahat Abrar said in a statement Monday. On February 13, Rushda Pervez — an undergraduate student at the AMU Women’s College — died of swine flu on her way to New Delhi for treatment. Rushda, along with more than 187 girls, had last fortnight gone on a tour to South India. On her way back, she developed symptoms of swine flu. [related-post] At least seven other girls, who were on the tour, reported similar symptoms and were admitted to the isolation ward at the University Health Service (UHS). Rushda is the third patient in Aligarh to have died due to swine flu during the past 10 days. Following Rushda’s death, the women’s college and schools under AMU were closed till February 18. UHS in-charge Dr Shariq Aqil said currently, three girls and 20 boys are admitted at the UHS and they are “hale and hearty”. “The test results of eight girls, who showed symptoms of swine flu, are awaited. Six among them have gone home. The boys have symptoms of common flu but just to be on the safe side, we have admitted them here,” Aqil said, adding that swine flu has been confirmed only in three AMU employees so far.
