BMC to screen students of Malad school after 6-year-old is diagnosed with H1N1

The child is on medication and his family has been asked to take prophylactics

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will screen students of Orchid International, Malad, after a six-year-old student was diagnosed with H1N1. This is the first swine flu case to be reported this year.

This is the first swine flu case to be reported this year. (HT File Photo)

“The boy was unwell for the past 10 days. On Wednesday, a blood test conducted by private laboratory confirmed that he had contracted HIN1,” said Dr Mini Khetrapal, head of BMC’s epidemiology cell.

“We will do a contact-tracing to see if there are more cases,” she said. The process involves identifying people who were in touch with the infected person and screening them for the infection.

The child is on medication and his family has been asked to take prophylactics.

“This could be a sporadic case. We are vigilant and have up ramped up screening at our dispensaries if people show symptoms similar to those of influenza,” she said. “Last year, we had eight cases,” she added.

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