Sudha Singh tests positive for swine flu

NEW DELHI: Indian steeplechaser Sudha Singh, quarantined in a Bengaluru hospital over Zika suspicion on her return from Rio, has tested negative for the mosquito-borne

NEW DELHI: Indian steeplechaser Sudha Singh, quarantined in a Bengaluru hospital over Zika suspicion on her return from Rio, has tested negative for the mosquito-borne viral infection. The athlete, however, tested positive for influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu.

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“The blood sample was tested on a priority basis and has returned negative for Zika and other mosquito-borne infections such as dengue and chikungunya. She tested positive for H1N1 and the test was done at NIMHANS in Bengaluru,” said Dr Soumya Swaminathan, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Thirty-year-old Sudha’s blood sample was sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune, which along with National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi has the capacity to test for Zika.

As a precautionary measure, the union health ministry has alerted all airport health organisations to look out for any Zikalike symptoms in athletes or people returning from Zika-affected countries.

“We have sent out an alert, and if there is anyone with symptoms, the person should be quarantined as a precautionary measure,” said a senior health ministry official.

All major airports and ports will have signboards, asking travellers coming from Zika-affected countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean to report to a doctor if they experience symptoms such as high fever, joint pain, conjunctivitis, body ache, rash and nausea.