Fresh H1N1 cases in Pune; schools shutdown; control room setup

PUNE: A control room to monitor an increasing number of swine flu cases here was set up in the city on Monday as 11 fresh H1N1 infections were reported among school students during the last 24 hours.

Among the official figure of 45 confirmed flu cases, students from four city schools accounted for 32 patients, civic health officials said today.

One more school- New India School- where three children have contracted the virus during the last two days, was closed as precautionary measure till August 2, the authorities said.

Three schools- Abhinav, Sevasadan and Symbiosis- affected by the pandemic have already sent their students on temporary leave to arrest the spread of the virus.

R R Pardeshi, civic medical officer, however said though the infection are shown a rising trend, 19 out of 20 students of Abhinav school had been discharged after successful treatment.

"While people and school managements are advised to take proper precautions, there is no need to press the panic button as the affected persons were responding to the standard treatment prescribed by the Central health authorities," he added.
The high incidence of swine flu cases among the student community in the city is believed to have been triggered by an infected boy returning from US under a cultural exchange programme earlier this month, sources said.

The Maharashtra education minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil visited the affected schools over the weekend and suggested setting up of a control room along with a coordinating committee comprising civic and school management representatives to monitor and address the situation.