New Delhi, May 4 (Inditop.com) As many as 1,501 people have died in India due to swine flu, but the influenza A (H1N1) has now shown signs of abating, the Rajya Sabha was informed Tuesday.
Minister of Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said the H1N1 cases have dropped in the past few weeks.
Till May 2, there have been 1,501 laboratory confirmed deaths due to the pandemic, while 30,581 people have been affected with the virus in the country, he said.
India reported its first swine flu death Aug 4, 2009, while the first case was recorded May 16, 2009.
“Government took a series of actions to prevent morbidity and mortality due to pandemic influenza A (H1N1) and to mitigate its impact,” the minister said.
Azad said they took various steps to check the spread of the flu in the country by screening passengers at 22 international airports. “Over one crore passengers were screened,” he added.
He said that the laboratory network in the country was strengthened with 45 laboratories carrying out clinical tests.
Also, India procured 40 million capsules of Oseltamivir, an anti-viral drug, of which 21 million were given to states. The retail sale of the drug was later allowed in some selected outlets.
