Swine flu cases 6 & 7 confirmed

The two who tested positive were on the same flight from Bangkok but seated in different rows. One of them,a 29-year-old resident of Andheri,was in row A while the other,a 52-year-old Borivali resident,was in row K. On arrival on Saturday,both showed typical symptoms and were rushed to Kasturba Hospital.

“They have been put on Tamiflu. On Monday we will trace all contacts seated two rows ahead of and two behind the positive persons. It is very unlikely that one contracted the disease from the other as they were seated wide apart,” said Dr Pradeep Awate,who is heading the state health department’s influenza cell.

Four more fliers were admitted to Kasturba Hospital on Sunday. All of them showed the symptoms: a 29-year-old man from Karnataka who had travelled to Riyadh and Bahrain and returned on Sunday; a 32-year-old man from Lucknow who had visited Nairobi; a 25-year-old from Ahmedabad who had been to Colombo,Singapore and Kuala Lumpur; another 25-year-old from Ahmedabad who had been to Bangkok and returned on Sunday. “Throat swabs of all four have been sent to NIV,” Dr Awate said.

Tests on a Thai family of five,quarantined at Kasturba Hospital on Saturday,have proved negative. So have those of two admitted to Pune’s Naidu Hospital.