The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Man arriving from Atlanta tests positive for swine flu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 29, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Man arriving from Atlanta tests positive for swine flu

Staff Reporter

He stayed home for a week since his arrival

He went voluntarily to RGICD for a check-up
The number of confirmed cases goes up to 14

BANGALORE: A 62-year-old man who returned from Atlanta, U.S., on June 17, tested positive after being screened for swine flu at the Rajeev Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) here on Sunday, taking the number of confirmed A(H1N1) virus cases in the city to 14.

According to sources, the patient said that he had stayed home for a week since he arrived here and decided to get voluntarily screened at the institute on Saturday.

After collecting his samples and sending them to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, doctors at the RGICD told the man that he should restrict his movements. The patient was admitted at the RGICD on Sunday evening, where the doctors will put him on tamiflu.

Advice to family

Meanwhile, they have asked his family, his wife and two daughters, to go to the institute for screening on Monday, and their throat and nasal swabs will be sent to the NIV for testing.

Simultaneously, they will be given prophylactic tamiflu as they have been in close contact with the patient for more than a week now.

The sources said that health authorities will be trying to locate the rest of the passengers who were aboard the same flight from Atlanta and screen them at the earliest.

Five more people were screened at the RGICD on Sunday. Of these, three were referred to the institute by the Bengaluru International Airport, while two of them got voluntarily screened.

Doctors say that a four-year-old child who had returned from Atlanta recently was among the referral cases.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka