New Delhi, Mumbai:
There is a sense of relief in the Capital after four people, suspected to have swine flu, tested negative. All of them had come into India from US and Mexico -- countries that have reported the disease.
However, one person in Hyderabad has been kept in quarantine after reporting symptoms of the flu. It is still not clear if indeed he has been infected.
But the virus is now much closer. Hong Kong and South Korea have reported cases and India has stepped up alert.
"Our effort is to stop the disease at the screening stage itself. There is tight screening at the airports and that is how some of the cases were spotted and tested," said Vineet Chaudhary, Joint Secretary, Health Ministry.
Passengers at all international airports are being screened. So far, over 2,000 people who had been to flue-affected countries have been tracked.
But the biggest challenge for authorities is to stem any kind of misinformation that could cause panic. For this purpose, they have set up helplines in the Capital, which are getting callers even from remote parts of the country. Many private hospitals in Mumbai have set up their own helplines.
Now, the authorities are hoping that such measures are able to create awareness about the disease and the precautions to be taken to avoid it.