Thaindian News

Pune, Aug 5 (ANI): Five new cases of H1N1 have surfaced in Pune. It includes three students of St. Anne’s High School, where country’s first swine flu victim Rida Shaikh had studied.

The parents of one of the victims claimed that though the girl was not in direct contact with Rida, she had contacted the virus. She has since been put on medicines.

“Initially, it was told that since you were not in direct contact with Rida or any swine flu patient the test cannot be conducted. Then I requested for a test to be conducted. It was positive. The government should provide more and more centres. The testing capacity of NIV is limited. They should increase the testing capacity at NIV, ” said Paras Bafna, the parent of the girl detected with swine flu.

Rida’s death had sent alarm bells ringing among residents making a beeline for Naidu Hospital, the only government-approved testing centre for swine flu symptoms in Pune.

So far, over 3, 500 people have had themselves tested for swine flu at this hospital.

The Maharashtra Government has invoked the Epidemic Act in Pune and Satara districts to check the spread of swine flu.

So far, 150 cases of swine flu have been reported in Maharashtra since April.

Incidentally, Jehangir Hospital is the first private hospital that treated a swine flu case outside the three civic hospitals that have become the main referral centres during the last month in Pune.

Rida, a class IX student, died at the Jehangir Hospital on Tuesday. (ANI)