The Hindu : Front Page : Two schoolchildren test positive for A (H1N1); panic in Bangalore

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Tuesday, Aug 11, 2009
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Two schoolchildren test positive for A (H1N1); panic in Bangalore

Bangalore Bureau

Health Minister Sriramulu says situation in State is ‘not alarming’

Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Taking precaution: A file photo of a man and a child waiting for tests at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases in Bangalore. —

BANGALORE: With news of two schoolchildren testing positive for A (H1N1) spreading on Monday, scores of anxious parents thronged the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) with their children to get them screened for the virus.

While a 13-year-old girl student of one of the National Public Schools tested positive for the virus on August 7 after attending a quiz competition on July 29 at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, a second-standard boy from Frank Anthony Public School at Cambridge Layout was diagnosed with the flu the same day. The school decided to close its junior section till August 14.

In Udupi, four persons, including a student and a canteen worker from the Manipal Institute of Technology, tested positive for the influenza on Monday, while a pregnant woman with suspected A (H1N1) is said to be in critical condition in Davangere.

Adding to the swine flu panic in Bangalore, a six-year-old boy and resident of Cheluvappa Garden, off Vijayanagar, died of dengue at the M.S. Ramaiah Hospital on Sunday.

Nearly 250 people — half of them children — arrived for screening at the RGICD. The testing of samples at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences was slow because of a shortage of testing kits owing to the high demand from Pune. Even follow-up tests of patients who had already tested positive and were under treatment, were held up. The situation might improve in two days, Shashidhar Buggi, Director, RGICD, told The Hindu.

R.G. Nadadur, Principal Secretary, Primary and Secondary Education, said the Government had already issued clear guidelines to schools on recognising symptoms and taking prompt action. Meanwhile, Health Minister B. Sriramulu has said the situation was “not alarming” in the State and appealed to people not to panic as all precautionary measures were being initiated by his department. The Directorate of Health and Family Welfare has set up a helpline to handle A (H1N1) cases. Those who have complaints of the infection can contact 1056 for help and treatment. A total of 92 cases have tested positive for the virus so far in Karnataka and 53 cases have been treated and discharged.

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