Gujarat: State reports 10 swine flu deaths in 24 hours; total toll 216 since January

Ten swine flu deaths were reported on Saturday from Gujarat taking the state’s toll to 316 since January 2017.

The state government had issued a heath bulletin that 10 people infected with H1N1 virus died in different parts of the state in the last 24 hours even as 201 new cases were registered.

An Outlook India report said that 23 persons infected with the virus are on ventilator support. As many as 1,275 patients have been cured and discharged during the last eight days, taking the number of those recovered from the infection to 2,367 till today, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, a government release said a central team comprising three experts from Delhi–Dipak Bhattacharya (Safdarganj Hospital), Lalit Dar (AIIMS) and Sanket Kulkarni (NCDC)–has suggested that the word ‘swine flu’ be replaced with ‘seasonal flu’ in medical courses.

Citing the observation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the experts suggested that swine flu be called seasonal flu to remove fear and panic from the minds of the public, it said.

The central team has been camping in Gujarat for the last three days to take stock of the situation. It is also reviewing the state government’s preparedness to deal with the swine flu …read more