Swine Flu Cases in Shimla

Including two cabinet ministers, twelve fresh cases of Swine Flu detected in the state till Thursday, whereas the number of H1N1 cases went up to 189 in the state, the senior officer of Health Department said.

Dr. Sonum Negi, State Communicable Disease and Surveillance Officer, said that till Feb 13, out of 32 samples, 12 were found positive for H1N1 and one patient died.

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He said that so far 558 influenza patients have undergone clinical trials and 189 were found positive for the swine flu.

He said that one died due to swine flu on Feb 13 belonged to Kangra district, increasing the number of casualties up to 22.

Out of the total 189 H1N1 cases:

• 59 cases were detected in Kangra
• 54 in Shimla
• 20 in Mandi
• 17 in Solan
• 11 in Hamirpur
• 8 in Bilaspur
• 6 in Chamba
• 4 in Sirmaur
• 3 each in Una and Kullu
• 1 each in Kinnaur and states of Haryana

Read Also: Swine flu death toll touches 250 across the Country

Two members of Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha and ministers Mr. Suresh Bhardwaj and Dr. Ram Lal Markanda also tested positive for the swine flu. The two were undergoing treatment at IGMC.

Among the other prominent Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha speaker Rajiv Bindal, Virbhadra Singh, and Inderdut Lakhan Pal were found positive for swine flu at IGMC, including six new positive cases detected for H1N1 today.

About 18 patients are suffering from deadly influenza in the Hospital.

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Swine flu has taken 22 lives in the state, including:

• Kangra: 9
• Mandi: 5
• Una, Hamirpur, and Shimla: 2 each
• Bilaspur and Solan: 1 each

Seven patients succumbed in the IGMC so far.

The state recorded only two deaths due to swine flu in 2018, 15 in 2017, five in 2016, and seven in 2015.

Influenza spread through the virus surfaced for the first time in 2009.

He said that the World Health Organization (WHO) did not consider this an epidemic as the new guidelines issued by the WHO placed swine flu in the outbreak category.

Read Also: Himachal Pradesh: Swine Flu death toll rises to 9

The government is providing free of cost treatment for swine flu in IGMC, Tanda Medical College, and Central Research Kender in Kasauli, and Tamiflu tablets are made available to the patients.

The department is issuing an advisory to the people from time to time after outbreak cases are pouring in large numbers in the state.