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| Follow safety measures and don’t panic over H1N1 virus: Experts | | | Agencies
New Delhi Aug 12
Don't panic, be careful……. That's the advice from health experts who point out that the H1N1 influenza is milder than the seasonal flu and that 55 percent of the more than 1,000 cases in the country have already been cured and discharged from hospitals.
India has so far has reported 1,079 swine flu cases and 14 deaths while 589 persons have been discharged with others still undergoing treatment in various government hospitals in the country.
"The swine flu virus is a mild strain and, in fact, is less virulent than the seasonal flu, which causes more deaths... We have treatment for it, which is Tamiflu. It is a curable disease, not an incurable one," said Health Secretary Naresh Dayal.
According to Randeep Guleria, head of medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, worldwide about 95 percent of those hospitalised have been discharged. Guleria added that Global data shows that less than six percent of those affected needed hospitalisation, while one third (of those in hospital) needed ICU care. However, those who have recovered from the flu are not immune to the infection and have to take care as others. But the next time they get the virus, it would be a mild one," Guleria said.
A total of 4.6 million people have been screened for swine flu across the country in the past three-and-a-half months; of these 5,000 people were tested for the flu.
The central government has spent over Rs 30 million (Rs 3 crore) for testing - 1,079 positive cases and 3,921 negative.
The swine flu testing kits are imported from a US company and each positive test costs Rs 10,000 while a negative test costs Rs 5,000, the government says.
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