Asia-Pacific Daily Report

India's health ministry confirmed the country's first H1N1 flu death on Monday (Aug 3) in the city of Pune in the western state of Maharashtra, which has stimulated a sense of panic throughout the city. News of the 14-year-old girl's death caused more than 1,000 people with flu symptoms on Wednesday (Aug 5) to gather outside two government hospitals testing for the H1N1 flu virus, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported. According to India's news channel NDTV, Pune's Naidu Hospital has seen more than 2,000 people since Monday. However, IANS reported that the situation on Wednesday became chaotic as scuffles erupted when some voluntary patients lost their patience and began shoving others to get tested first. One man told NDTV that he had been waiting outside the hospital since four in the morning. The Agence France-Presse (AFP) attributed long waits to a shortage of staff, as one hospital only had 12 doctors to treat the 1,000 people who swarmed outside. The long waits also caused many residents to complain that there were not enough laboratories and personnel to test for suspected cases at the two designated hospitals, but Maharashtra's government said only state-run hospitals are allowed to test H1N1 patients. India's first casualty has prompted the government to implement the Epidemic Act in two districts, which allows authorities to forcibly put H1N1 flu patients under quarantine in government hospitals, the AFP said. Subsequently, with more people coming in for testing, more cases have since surfaced in Pune, some of which were students and doctors. Prior to the country's first death, Pune had seen a cluster of cases. During the first week of July, about 90 children were affected by an "influenza-like illness," and several tested positive for the H1N1 flu, the AFP noted. Meanwhile, a day after people rushed to hospitals in Pune for testing, a similar scene occurred at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in the capital, New Delhi, on Thursday (Aug 6), IANS reported. Hundreds of people wearing masks and hand gloves rushed to get screened in the capital, but it was a much calmer scene as the RML Hospital was better equipped to handle a large number of patients. According to the IANS, on Friday (Aug 7), India's health ministry reported that there were 96 new cases reported, bringing the country's case count to 712, the Economic Times said. Of the new cases, Maharashtra state alone tallied 53 cases, which is the highest in the country. The city of Pune alone reported 37 positive cases, in which two of them were doctors. Due to the continued spread of the disease, the Delhi government issued a set of guidelines to schools, colleges and institutions to monitor the situation. India has increased airport screening and has established quarantine centers to treat confirmed cases. Despite the rapid spread of the disease, the Economic Times reported Health Secretary Naresh Dayal saying that there was no need to panic and that the government was taking all steps necessary to control the virus.

Source:

· http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?a=jihiQKgfjeb&title=19_new_swine_flu_cases_in...

· http://news.smashits.com/414703/After-Pune-Swine-flu-creates-panic-at-Delhi-hosp...

· http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jHahTO_QXLDZ4rQ4nUykj4OINhjg

· http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINDEL50531320090803

· http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/swine_flu_pune_ground_report.php

· 96 new swine flu cases in India, total now 712

· http://www.reuters.com/article/homepageCrisis/idUSL6332419._CH_.2400

· http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goK-pCbdtGRYh0qjGTEFYM2sXMTwD9...

· http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/08/06/81020.html

· http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i-Qd-q3ALSGUV0tZqwFVoy1GlGfQD9...

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