New Delhi/Pune: Swine flu cases showed a sharp rise across the country with 96 more persons testing positive for the virus on Friday but the Centre said there is no cause for "panic", as five doctors became the latest victims.
The spurt in the cases of H1N1 virus which has claimed the life of a 14-year-old school girl reverbetrated in the Rajya Sabha giving handle to the Opposition to attack the government which maintained that the spread of the disease was limited, though figures suggested otherwise.
The total number of swine flu cases stands at 711, according to Union Health ministry. Pune, which appeared to be the epicentre for this virus infection, accounted for 39 of the fresh cases. The private Symbiosis complex in Pune, home to a cluster of educational institutions, announced that it would be closed for one week after 2 girls tested positive for H1N1.
Thirteen cases were reported in Delhi including three doctors one of whom is from Safdarjung Hospital and a student of IIT which recorded the second case. A Doctor in Pune and a pharmacist are in a critical condition and put on ventilator.
The fifth doctor affected is from Ahmedabad.
The Health ministry said fresh cases were also reported from Chennai, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad and Calicut Union Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said there is no cause for people to go in a "panic mode" when just one just swine flu death was recorded in the country.
A vociferous opposition questioned the government's strategy in the Rajya Sabha but Health Minister Ghulam Nabi
Azad defended the manner in which the problem was being handled.
"We have managed to limit such cases to a few individuals, considering the size of our population and country," he said, adding, government was mulling the open sale of Tamiflu a drug to treat the disease.
The government will take a decision within a couple of days on the open sale of Tamiflu, Azad said, adding government has kept a stock of one crore Tamiflu doses ready.
"The situation is well under hand," Dayal said. Dayal said there was no need to panic as a study on the spread of the disease has shown that till now the disease was spreading indigenously only among 10 per cent of those exposed to the virus.
The Centre meanwhile issued fresh guidelines to states asking them to increase the designated hospitals for treatment besides allowing private hospitals to treat patients and setting up helplines to provide information.
In a letter to the Chief Secretaries of all states and Union Territories, Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said it is necessary to identify more hospitals for examination and collection of samples of suspect cases of swine flu.
He asked the states to operationalise helplines where people can call up to seek information or report outbreaks. Dayal also asked state governments to increase the number of hospitals designated for treatment of positive cases of swine flu and allow private hospitals to treat such patients.
The advisory issued by Tamil Nadu government against travelling to Pune meanwhile was disapproved by Maharashtra Health Minister Rajendra Shingne who said it was an unwarranted measure.
Dayal also addressed the Advisory issue saying as of now there is no need for restrictions on travel from state to state.