Five more labs to test swine flu samples in Delhi

Delhi Government has identified five laboratories to test samples of people suspected to have contracted swine flu, taking the total number of such facilities in the city to eight.

Delhi Government has identified five laboratories to test samples of people suspected to have contracted swine flu, taking the total number of such facilities in the city to eight.

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"Five more laboratories will start testing samples from today," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit told PTI.

With this, the capital has eight laboratories where samples can be tested for the viral disease which has claimed around 30 lives across the country.

Presently, samples are tested at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, AIIMS and Patel Chest Institute in New Delhi.

Asked about some schools preferring to close down, she said there was no need for that. However, she said, she would warn people against being careless.

The Union Health Ministry has recently allowed state governments to involve private hospitals and laboratories for effectively tackling the spread of the disease.

The Ministry had asked states to allow such facilities to conduct tests and treat the affected if private hospitals and laboratories conform to the guidelines issued by it.