Man refuses treatment; passes swine flu virus to mother

NEW DELHI: A 35-year-old man, who refused to get himself admitted to a hospital despite testing positive for swine flu, has passed on the deadly virus to his mother.

Delhi health officials said they repeatedly requested the patient to come to the hospital, but the family refused. Following this, he was kept in an isolated area in his residence at Rajokri farmhouse near Palam international airport.

"The patient is at his residence. We made so many requests to the family as well as the patient to get him admitted to the RML hospital, but they refused," M Lal, chief of the Directorate of Health Services Delhi Government said.

The lapse probably led to the patient's mother also catching the swine flu virus. The person has recently returned from New York.

"The family is rich and there is no law which can be used to make the patient come to a hospital," Lal said.

While Delhi has had two positive cases of swine flu, the total number of cases in the country has risen to 11.