Chandigarh, Dec 27 (IANS) The dip in the mercury in December has seen a surge in swine flu cases in this union territory, and a high death toll of 38 in the month so far, officials said Sunday.
The H1N1 toll in Chandigarh so far is 48. Fourteen of them died in the last seven days. On Saturday, the maximum deaths of six in a single day were recorded.

“The dip in mercury has made this virus more contagious and people have become more prone to this infection. We have directed all our doctors and other medical staff to remain extra-cautious and keep a close tab on the situation,” H.C. Gera, the nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS.

“We have observed that most of those who succumbed to the disease, approached the hospital in a very advanced stage of infection. We are running a widespread campaign to educate the masses about the do’s and don’ts and have told them to immediately approach the nearest hospital if they show any symptoms.”

Last week, the technical committee of the health department had declared the status of swine flu here as ‘community spread’. It implied that the infection was not limited to any high-risk group and doctors can prescribe the tamiflu dosage just on the basis of symptoms.

“Presently, we are waiting for the test reports of 15 more patients. There is no need to panic as we have sufficient stocks of medicines and are well-equipped to handle any kind of emergency situation,” Gera said.

So far, over 725 suspected cases of swine flu have been screened in Chandigarh, of which 313 tested positive.

Of the 48 casualties in Chandigarh, 23 were from Punjab, 11 from Haryana, seven from here, six from Himachal Pradesh and one from Uttar Pradesh.

The testing facility at the virology department of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) caters to the needs of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

In Punjab, 164 patients have tested positive and 30 deaths were reported so far due to swine flu.

In Haryana, over 1,250 positive cases of influenza A virus have been reported in the last few months and of these nearly 600 were from Gurgaon.