16 fresh swine flu cases reported across country

S
ixteen more cases of swine flu were reported across the country on Wednesday taking the total number of cases to 574.

While Delhi reported three cases, Pune had six, two cases each in Mumbai, Chennai and Gurgaon and one in Trivandrum.

The three cases in Delhi are a 22-year-old man who travelled from Hong Kong to Delhi transiting Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

The second case is an 18-year old boy who travelled from Singapore to New Delhi reaching Delhi and the third case is a 25-year old man, who travelled from Toronto Amsterdam reaching Delhi.

Of the six cases reported in Pune, three are school children who are contacts of positive cases reported earlier.

Another indigenous case is a 20-year old boy, who was in contact with visiting foreign nationals in Pune.

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Beating swine flu: Don't panic, be prepared

C
ollege
is hectic for Ashna these days. She has to make up for classes she missed while recovering from swine flu.

Last month, back from a holiday in Malaysia, Ashna, her mother and sister were diagnosed with symptoms of H1N1 influenza.

There were some tense moments initially though now all of them have fully recovered.

"Of course the fear was there. After all one was reading about it in papers and it was all over. But while the reports tell you how many have been infected, they never tell you how many have been cured as well. So don't panic. Because it's totally curable," says Ashna Lahoty.

At a time when swine flu is quite the dreaded word, Ashna's friends have been a great source of support. Students of clinical psychology at an institute in Noida, some of them say that it even made them question the manner in which treatment was being handled.

"The worst thing is that sometimes people become hypochondriacs. Even if there is some flu, they start imagining the worst. So we feel counselling is very very important because they need to know about the disease, what causes it and how it is cured," observes Mehezabeen, Ashna's friend.

Spreading information holds the key. As the World Health Organisation and health authorities battle the swine flu pandemic, what could make the difference is awareness and preparedness. So don't panic, but be prepared.

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Swine flu panic strikes Pune parents

A
fter swine flu claimed a life in Pune, there's panic among parents. They are rushing to hospitals for a swine flu test. Hundreds of people have rushed to Pune's Naidu hospital, the government-designated hospital for the test.

Worried parents are taking no chances and getting their children tested for the flu.

Police has been called in to control the crowds at the Naidu Hospital in Pune. This is two days after 14-year-old Reeda Sheikh became India's first swine flu patient to die.

A central team of doctors and experts is currently in Pune to assess the situation and mainly to find out just how Reeda got swine flu.

Pune's health officials on Wednesday met school principals and gave them a series of instructions to follow in case any students come down with flu like symptoms. They told them that

* If a student has swine flu symptoms send him home with a letter to parents asking the child to be tested at Naidu Hospital
* If a child tests positive close that section down for a week
* If a child has fever for more than 3 days inform local health auth immediately
* Keep classrooms well ventilated
* If a child has even regular flu keep him home for ten days

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