Thaindian News

Chandigarh, July 7 (IANS) A couple in Jalandhar town of Punjab has tested positive for influenza A (H1N1) infection after a trip to Thailand, health officials said Tuesday.
Kulwant Singh, 44, and his wife Anita, 38, returned from Thailand to Jalandhar, about 150 km from here, July 3. They were admitted in the civil hospital with the symptoms of running nose, high fever and sore throat.

“We had sent their samples to NICD (National Institute of Communicable Disease in New Delhi) and got the reports yesterday (Monday). They have tested positive. Their condition is stable and they are recovering,” Roop Lal, district health officer of Jalandhar, told IANS.

Last month, 14 students of a private school in Jalandhar were quarantined in the civil hospital after they exhibited swine flu symptoms. Seven of them tested positive for the infection.

The students were part of a group of 31 students and three teachers of the Guru Amar Das Public School that went on an educational trip to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US.

The union territory of Chandigarh also has two suspected cases of swine flu.

A 22-year-old software engineer and a three-year-old girl were admitted to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and in the government hospital in Sector 32 respectively with symptoms of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

“The boy had gone to California last month whereas the girl had returned from the US June 30. Seeing their travel history, we have admitted them in isolation wards and sent their samples to NICD for tests,” said H.C. Gera, Chandigarh nodal officer for swine flu.

Last month, the first positive case of swine flu in Punjab was reported from Gurdaspur town, some 250 km from here. The infected boy, who was studying in California and had come home on vacation, was admitted to a government hospital in Chandigarh. He was discharged after treatment.