Woman, son test positive for Swine Flu in Coimbatore
Reported June 03, 2009
New Delhi: The latest update on two confirmed cases of swine flu in India is that they have been traced to Coimbatore. The two are first cases of human to human transmission of the swine flu virus.
The 34-year-old woman and her five-year-old son who flew in from Boston, US via Chennai to Coimbatore on May 28 have tested positive and have been quarantined at Coimbatore Medical College.
The woman’s eight-year-old daughter has also been quarantined for safety reasons despite testing negative. The family arrived in Coimbatore from Boston after spending a holiday with the father.
They reported to the health facility as the child had fever before leaving US. They are currently free from symptoms and on medication.
“They are on tamiflu capsules – one is the morning and one in evening. Both children also being given as per their weight. They will stay here for a week. And their throat swabs will be sent daily to NICD,” informed dean, Coimbatore Medical College, Dr Kumaran.
This is India’s first case of a human getting the virus from another human though officials are not clear yet who gave it to whom. Authorities are now trying to track down the 55 co-passengers who were on the Kingfisher flight IT-2901 from Chennai.
While the Health Ministry was unavailable for comment, their latest press release says:
All three positive samples are of persons who traveled to India from an affected country. As of now there had been no further spread. The situation is being monitored.
The first confirmed swine flu patient in India was cured and discharged in Hyderabad last week. According to (World Health Organisation) WHO, the virus has so far spread to 62 countries infecting more than 17,000 cases and killing 115.