Sunday sees 60 swine flu cases

The city continued to be in the grip of the H1N1 virus with this week registering the highest number of swine flu cases so far this season. On Sunday, 60 cases were reported, the seasonal highest for a day. HT reports.

The city continued to be in the grip of the H1N1 virus with this week registering the highest number of swine flu cases so far this season. On Sunday, 60 cases were reported, the seasonal highest for a day.

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Of the new cases, nine were reported from Deen Dayal Upadhyaya hospital, six from Gangaram Hospital, five from Safdarjung Hospital, three each from Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and Lok Nayak, two each from St Stephen's, Max Hospital, Saket and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, one each from Chacha Nehru hospital, Madan Mohan Malviya Hos-pital and Baba Sahib Ambedkar. The remaining 25 people got themselves tested voluntarily.

The Capital has so far recorded over 300 cases of swine flu and nine deaths, which is a two-year highest. Despite such high number of cases, Delhi government officials are insisting that swine flu is well under control. "There is no one pattern or place from where most cases are coming. The cases are uniformly spread across the city, suggesting that this is a seasonal phenomenon and will die down as weather improves," said Dr Charan Singh, additional director, department of heath and nodal officer for H1N1 flu.

"Even 60 is not a huge figure for a big city like Delhi. More cases are being reported, thanks to better surveillance and closer monitoring. Even smaller hospitals are reporting cases," he said, assuaging fears of an epidemic-like situation.

Delhi health minister AK Walia said all measures were in place to ensure patients testing positive for swine flu were being offered good medical care.

"The severity of the flu when compared to 2009 is less. Timely treatment to those at high risk will ensure lower mortality," he said, insisting that people should not ignore symptoms.