No need to panic over swine flu in India

New Delhi, June 12 (PTI) The Indian government Friday
said there was no need to panic with the WHO's "level six"
pandemic alert for swine flu as the disease was still
containable in India even as it decided to tighten screening
of passengers by installing thermal scanners at all airports.

The WHO has declared a pandemic globally, but in India,
the disease can still be contained by tough screening and
other measures, Vineet Chaudhary, Joint Secretary Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare told reporters here.

The spread is still fairly moderate in India as only 16
people out of the vast population have tested positive for the
disease, he said.

However, in order to ensure better screening of
passengers, the Government has decided to install thermal
scanners at airports to detect people who were entering the
country with fever.

"The scanners would be installed in the Delhi airport
first and later on would come up at the other airports," he
said.

The Government has also asked Indian missions abroad to
tell people having symptoms of swine flu to defer travelling
to India. "The missions have been asked to tell people with
such symptoms to defer travelling to the country," Chaudhary
said.

Chaudhary said the Centre has also decided to
decentralise the stockpile of Tamiflu by sending it to seven
locations across the country.

The selected locations are Delhi, Karnal, Hyderabad,
Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.

Besides this, all states have been assigned the requisite
number of emergency protection kits.

Earlier, India's Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad
said the number of persons infected in the country is "too
less and too small" compared to its size and population.

"I don't think there is any need for panic. So far our
country is concerned...in view of the size and population of
the country, the number of persons infected is too less and
too small," he told reporters.

The Minister, however, said it could not be a reason for
not taking any precaution.

With one more person testing positive in Hyderabad, the
total number of swine flu cases in the country has gone upto
16. PTI SPC
RAI
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