MUMBAI (Reuters) - Schools, malls and cinema halls in some cities in western India have shut and Bollywood shoots cancelled as the toll from the H1N1 pandemic rose to eight.
More than 850 have so far tested positive for the virus, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, with about 340 still undergoing treatment and the rest discharged from hospitals.
“We need to work a little harder as the rate at which cases are being reported has gone up,” he said late on Monday.
India was importing more supplies of flu drug Tamiflu and testing kits, asking private hospitals to help state-run hospitals cope with a surge in people rushing to get tested.
The flu drug is still supplied only by the state and will not be made available in pharmacies, Azad said. Three Indian drug firms were working on a vaccine, although it could take 5-7 months to make one available, he said.
In southern Hyderabad city, where the world badminton championships are being held, a Malaysian coach was quarantined on Tuesday with symptoms of the flu, a government coordinator said.
In western Maharashtra state, which has six of the eight fatalities so far, schools, malls and cinema halls in Pune city have shut and companies are restricting travel to and from the industrial hub, about 180 km from Mumbai.
A team from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases was in the state to check the formation of clusters, the Indian Express paper said, citing a state health official.
H1N1 swine flu is unstoppable, according to the World Health Organisation, which has given up on trying to keep a precise count of cases.
| Source: Reuters |
