Swine flu surfaces in two more schools

Meanwhile,two more students of the Abhinav English Medium School also tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

“Health officials have taken immediate measures and instructed both the schools to shut down for the next eight days,” said Dr R R Pardeshi,chief medical officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

In a late night development,the National Institute of Virology (NIV) confirmed that the two students are infected with the H1N1 virus. They have been admitted to the Naidu Hospital.

Health officials have urged the parents not to panic and observe home quarantine. Students of these two schools had come in contact with the Abhinav students as they travelled by the same bus.

With the two new cases,the total number of children infected with swine flu in the city has gone up to 21. Of them,11 have been discharged while the rest are undergoing treatment at Naidu Hospital.

Deputy mayor Chandrakant Mokate and his colleagues on Thursday paid a surprise visit to the hospital and pulled up the authorities for not providing adequate facilities to the patients.

Mokate pointed out serious shortcomings in the measures taken by the hospital — including insufficient number of doctors. Garbage had also piled up near the ward,he alleged. The authorities directed the health officials to maintain cleanliness on the premises.

Dr R R Pardeshi,Pune Municipal Corporation’s chief medical officer said measures were being taken to ensure cleanliness and hygiene.