Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: A day after Delhi recorded its first swine flu death, Health Minister JP Nadda on Saturday assured people that there is no need to panic.
Asserting that the Health Ministry will deal with the situation, Nadda told a news agency that 17 government hospitals in Delhi have adequate medical facilities to deal with the disease.
He also urged people to visit the nearest government hospital if any symptoms of swine flu are observed.
A 51-year-old woman, who passed away two days ago at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, was shifted to the city hospital on December 21 after being diagnosed with the deadly virus in a hospital in Ghaziabad in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, a hospital official said.
Over 40 people have died of swine flu, caused by the H1N1 virus, across India this year. It claimed three lives and more than a dozen people were hospitalised in Hyderabad in December alone. Cases of swine flu were reported from Pune and Indore also earlier this month.
Swine flu carrier, the H1N1 influenza virus, is prone to appear in winter months. It is characterised by throat problems, body ache and respiratory complications.
Common precautions are washing hands properly, avoiding crowded places and wearing masks.
The medicine generally prescribed for the disease is Tamiflu, which must be taken only after doctor’s prescription.
The first case of H1N1 virus first appeared in Mexico five years ago and rapidly spread around the world. As many as 981 people reportedly died of swine flu in 2009, the year World Health Organisation called it a pandemic.
(With Agency inputs)
