Delhi reports 2nd swine flu case,search for US national

Delhi now has two confirmed cases of H1N1 virus,with the 60-year-old mother of the man who had tested...

Delhi now has two confirmed cases of H1N1 virus,with the 60-year-old mother of the man who had tested positive on Sunday falling victim to swine flu. The Capital also reported a suspected case,with a 25-year-old from Uttar Pradesh who took a Jet Airways flight from Kuwait to Delhi showing symptoms of the flu. He has been quarantined.

According to officials,the woman who tested positive on Monday had caught the flu while nursing her 35-year-old US-returned son,who had developed the symptoms on June 2. She complained of mild symptoms and her samples tested positive. The two are on oseltamivir. All their contacts are being administered medicine to prevent the spread of the disease, said a Health Ministry official.

According to sources in the ministry,they are looking for an American national who was the 35-year-olds only co-passenger in Executive Class on the Air-India flight from the US. He was staying in a hotel in Delhi till June 6. He has since moved out and we are in the process of tracing him, sources said.

The three crew members,who have been traced,have shown no symptoms of swine flu so far.

With two cases of human-to-human transmission being reported from the country,experts fear things may take a turn for the worse in the days to come. This means that the virus has developed good transmissibility,and can spread fast now, a National Institute of Communicable Diseases NICD official said.

Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad took stock of the situation on Monday,holding discussions with Director General,Indian Council of Medical Research ICMR,Dr V M Katoch,and NICD Director Dr Shiv Lal.

While the ministry was already working on a contingency plan to tackle a feared second wave in the winter,it decided to speed up things after Mondays meeting.

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Among other steps,16 more labs will be activated for virus detection. This will significantly boost response to the problem. It is very important for a country with Indias population to take all the necessary steps to control the fallout. The cooperation of people will be of utmost importance, said Azad.

The laboratories are already being equipped and employees are receiving training to deal with the cases. These will be later interlinked to the NICD and National Institute of Virology.

Azad also proposed setting up a Rapid Action Team for states within a month,and reiterated a travel advisory asking people to avoid non-essential travel to countries affected by H1N1.