Swine flu alert in Tamil Nadu

Fears that the swine flu virus has resurfaced in the State after a 29-year-old pregnant woman tested positive for swine flu in Coimbatore on April 30 has made the Health Department issue an alert to all private hospitals, urging them to screen patients showing symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and to carry out fresh sensitisation drives.
Health Secretary V K Subburaj pointed out that deaths due to swine flu occurred because of late detection of the virus. He said since private hospitals did not conduct diagnostic tests for swine flu, H1N1 cases were brought to the notice of the government only at a much developed stage. Besides, many patients suffering from swine flu were treated for pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases in the absence of appropriate tests, he said.
Between April and December last year, 2,500 persons had tested positive for the virus and eight persons had died of it, according to official records.
Deputy health directors will soon hold sensitisation meetings with private hospitals in various districts.
The affected woman, whose condition is stable, is being administered Tamiflu tablets at a private hospital.
An official at the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine said the first H1N1 case was reported around the same time last year.