Swine flu spread: PM steps in, reviews situation

Worried about the growing number of deaths in the country due to swine flu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stepped in and reviewed the situation, asking the Health Ministry to co-ordinate with state governments efforts to contain further spread of the disease.

Singh spoke to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday afternoon and asked him to take steps to remove misinformation and educate people about the disease.

PMO sources said Dr Singh told Azad to set up a panel of experts and doctors to spread correct information about the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.

Singh also said the Health Secretary should be in regular touch with state health secretaries and take coordinated action to contain further spread of the disease, which has claimed four lives in the country so far.

Azad told Prime Minister that the country had enough stocks of Tamiflu tablets used to treat swine flu, according to the sources.

"Consignments of one lakh (Tamiflu) tablets have been flown to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Government has also decided to make available at least 10,000 tablets to each district if they require it at any point of time, Azad said.

The Health Minister said every state has been asked to open a helpline to inform the people about the disease.

The Health Ministry is also launching a website specifically to educate the public about swine flu, Azad said.

The Prime Minister's Office has been monitoring closely the swine flu situation in the country and the measures taken to contain further spread of the infection.

The Prime Minister has also asked Azad to keep him informed about the latest developments in this connection from time to time.

Meanwhile, a five-member Central team is visiting Pune, one of the places worst hit by swine flu.

The death toll due to swine flu has risen to four as a 43-year-old NRI succumbed to the viral infection in Ahmedabad this morning.

Praveen Patel, who had reached Ahmedabad from Atlanta about ten days back, died of the highly infectious disease at 1.30 am at the city civil hospital.

Fourteen-year-old Pune schoolgirl Reeda Shaikh was the first swine flu victim in the country. Sanjay Tukaram Kokre, a 42-year-old teacher, and 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala, who was a diabetic with a history of hypertension, died due to swine flu in Pune and Mumbai on Saturday respectively.

The number of those infected by the disease has risen to 782 in the country. Altogether 511 patients of the total cases have been discharged after treatment. The rest are being treated in stipulated government hospitals across the country.