Chennai:
Twenty-nine persons have so far tested positive for swine flu in Tamil Nadu but instances of the virus were not "endemic but sporadic," Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr VS Vijay said today.
Those who have tested positive mainly hail from the districts of Chennai, Coimbatore and Tirupur, he told reporters here.
Assuring people that there was no need to panic, he said instances of the virus were "not endemic but sporadic." Children and old persons with lesser resistance were more prone to swine flu, he said.
A 75-year-old farmer from Tirupur district died due to swine flu last week. Twenty-six of his relatives have been administered with preventive vaccine, the minister said.
"None of the relatives of the victim has been affected by the virus," he said after inspecting facilities at Swine Flu special wards set up in state-run Communicable Diseases Hospital, Stanley Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital.
Tests of throat swabs were being done at government labs in King Institute, Chennai, and government medical college hospitals in Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore and Tirunelveli besides 12 private laboratories, he said.
Preventive vaccines are being administered to health workers and lab professionals as they were directly dealing with persons suspected to have contracted the virus, he said, adding, 25,000 doses of vaccine had been provided by the Centre.
Government was taking various steps in this regard and had set up monitoring groups at entry points to the state, including the airport and railway stations, the minister said.