Swine flu infections rise to 959, death toll 7
POSTED August 11, 2009 - 06:55 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on August 11, 2009 - 11:21
Out of the 95 fresh cases, 47 cases were reported in Pune, while 22 were reported from Mumbai. The national capital Delhi accounted for 14 more new cases.
Panchgani reported 6 cases and Mangalore reported 3 cases. One case each was reported from Noida, Ajmer and Gurgaon.
563 patients out of the total 959 infected have been treated and discharged.
Approximately 4,513 persons have been tested for the lethal virus in the country. 647 of these were identified through entry screening, 825 through contact tracing, while the rest were self reported.
Rapid rise of infections in Pune
As has been the trend in recent past, 50 percent of the cases were reported from Pune, the epicenter of the current swine flu pandemic in India.
All the 47 cases reported from Pune are cases of secondary infections. Thus these people have contracted the flu from an already infected human being.
Pune district guardian minister Ajit Pawar noted, “Over the last three days, Pune city has seen 128 fresh cases of H1N1 infection. The disease is spreading fast especially among students, which is a cause of concern for the government.
“We have hence decided to shut schools, colleges, private educational institutions and coaching classes till Saturday. While cinema halls and multiplexes will remain closed till Thursday, we appeal to Puneites to refrain from visiting malls and shopping complexes.”
Indigenous cases on the rise
In Mumbai, all, except one of the new patients, are indigenous cases. Out of the 14 cases in Delhi, four cases have a travel history. The remaining 10 are indigenous cases. One of the three cases reported from Mangalore has a travel history.
The six cases that have emerged in Panchgani of Satara District are school where the influenza has already affected children earlier. The lone case in Noida is also an indigenous one. However, the lone case from Ajmer has a travel history.
The seventh fatality
35-year-old Sanjay Tilekar, a chemist, succumbed to the swine flu virus in Pune on Monday, taking the tally of H1N1 fatalities in the country to seven.
Tilekar had underlying medical conditions. On August 6, he was admitted to the hospital with a heart problem and fever. He also suffered from respiratory tract infection. His death is the fourth one in Pune due to the virus.
