NEW DELHI: India has clocked a thousand cases of the dreaded swine flu virus, including 59 deaths being reported this spring and the number expected to go up as the dry weather continues in central and South Central India. The most affected states viz. Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka Rajashthan are among thirteen states affected which have contributed most to the numbers and are known to have dry climates. Providing the figures, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the deaths have come despite government efforts to contain the disease. Maharashtra accounted for the maximum number of 487 cases and 20 deaths, while Andhra Pradesh reported 115 cases and 12 deaths and Rajasthan had 116 cases with 12 deaths, followed by Karnataka where 171 cases were reported, including eight deaths. “States have been issued an advisory has been issued to the states for screening and isolation facilities, including critical care,” Azad said. The Union government, in its efforts, has directed all states to follow guidelines on triage, categorization and testing of patients and 45 laboratories (26 in government sector and 19 in private sector). Pharmaceutical companies too have decided to restart the manufacture of the swine flu drug Oseltamivir, which they had stopped last year following very few cases as compared to the previous year when the swine flu pandemic was at its height. Swine was declared as a pandemic by the WHO three years ago and the status still continues to exist. However despite the clear cut trend that swine flu is spreading more in dry climates, researchers are yet to conclusively establish a connection between the climate and the spread of the virus.
