Swine Flu | India records first Swine Flu Case

India recorded its first case of swine flu, with a 23-year-old man who flew from New York to Hyderabad testing positive for the virus.

The patient, who travelled from the United States via Dubai, arrived in Hyderabad on May 13 and was isolated as he reported fever and his samples were sent for a detailed examination.

“His samples tested positive for Influenza A (H1N1). He is on treatment with Oseltamivir and presently afebrile,” the health ministry said in a statement. It said all the local contacts of the infected man have been traced and their health status is being monitored. The locals are afebrile, it added.

All the passengers who traveled in the connecting flight from Dubai to Hyderabad have been identified and they are being contacted through Integrated Disease Surveillance Project and their health status would be monitored. These passengers are also being advised to remain under home quarantine for further period of seven days.

The ministry of health and family welfare has appealed to all passengers who travelled on Flight EK-524 reaching Hyderabad on 13.5.2009 to self monitor for influenza like illness [fever, cough, difficulty in breathing] and to provide their contact details to Government of India on toll free No. 1075 or 1800-11-4377 or Outbreak Monitoring Cell of National Institute of Communicable Diseases at 011-23921401 or Department of Health, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh control room at Chest Hospital, Hyderabad No. 040-23814939 to enable public health authorities to monitor their health status.

New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): No case of Influenza-A H1N1 or Swine Flu has been reported so far from the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said.

Samples of two persons who disembarked at Bangalore airport have been referred to the identified health facility.

So far samples of 24 persons have been tested and found negative.

Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing at 21 International airports in the country. The situation is being monitored closely.

Already, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory informing the public that retail sale of Oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) is not permitted in the country and Chemists are not authorized to sell it.

On Friday, the World Health Organization said that 2,384 people in 24 countries now had confirmed cases of swine flu.

Only 46 people are known to have died of the virus, and 44 of them were reported in Mexico. (ANI)

Judy Trunnell | Judy Trunnell becomes first American citizen to die of Swine Flu

Judy Trunnell is the unfortunate victim who has succumbed to Swine flu. She has been identified by health officials to be “the first U.S. resident” to die while she was suffering from swine flu. However, the officials have not specifically said that Trunnell died because of contracting the virus. The news of her death came in when the health officials of U.S. and Mexico were hoping that the attack of the most threatening virus was slowly coming under control.

So far 30 deaths have occured due to swine flu,out of which 29 cases belong to Mexico and the other one belongs to the United States of America.

The death of Judy Trunnell is very heart rendering because she was eight months pregnant and was put on life support. She gave birth to a healthy girl through Caesarean section but she could not fight back the virus.

swine flu | swine flu 2009 | swine flu outbreak in the United States

In March, April, and May 2009, an outbreak of a new strain of influenza commonly known as swine flu infected many people in Mexico and parts of the United States, causing severe illness in the former. The new strain was identified as a combination of several different strains of Influenzavirus A, subtype H1N1, including separate strains of this subtype circulating in humans (human influenza) and in pigs (swine influenza). The strain transmits between humans and has been reported to have a relatively high mortality rate in Mexico. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have expressed serious concerns that the new strain has the potential to become an influenza pandemic.It is reported that, because the virus is already widespread, containment will be impossible.

On April 28, 2009, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first official US death of swine flu. Tests confirmed that a 23-month old toddler from Mexico, who was probably infected there, died from the flu while visiting Texas. The following day, President Obama suggested U.S. schools should consider shutting down as a future possibility if students are infected. By April 30, 2009, 300 U.S. schools and school districts had announced closures in response to the outbreak, giving 169,000 students time off

Health officials have confirmed the first case of swine flu in Georgia. The head of Georgia’s Division of Public Health said Thursday a 30-year-old woman from Kentucky who had traveled to LaGrange in west Georgia had fallen ill. She had been in Cancun, Mexico earlier this month. The World Health Organization has raised its alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest, indicating a pandemic may be imminent. Swine flu has symptoms nearly identical to regular flu – fever, cough and sore throat – and spreads like regular flu, through tiny particles in the air, when people cough or sneeze. People with flu symptoms are advised to stay at home, wash their hands and cover their sneezes.

(Associated Press)