Swine Flu cases on the rise, docs say virus is mild

In this week alone, 17 new swine flu cases have been reported in the Capital, taking the tally to 31. According to the state health officials, while 27 of these cases are of locals, the remaining four either have travel history or are residents of other states. The data was procured from the Directorate of Health Services on Wednesday.

In this week alone, 17 new swine flu cases have been reported in the Capital, taking the tally to 31.

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According to the state health officials, while 27 of these cases are of locals, the remaining four either have travel history or are residents of other states. The data was procured from the Directorate of Health Services on Wednesday.

Until, last Friday, there were only 14 positive cases of H1N1 Influenza. “There is lot of humidity in the air, which makes the environment conducive to the growth of this virus. So cases of swine flu are bound to rise,” said Dr Debashish Bhattacharya, Delhi government-appointed nodal officer for swine flu.

“Health department is better prepared than last year when the virus first broke out. Our hospitals are well equipped to handle any kind of situation, though it is very much under control,” he said.

According to Dr Bhattacharya, the cases of swine flu should be less this year. “The deadly virus has already had a natural death. Now, these cases that we are getting are of the mild virus and is not that deadly,” he said,

The health department has alerted all its district surveillance officers in the Capital. Advisories have also been sent to various hospitals, which were designated for swine flu testing.

The total number of laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in the Capital is 9,734.