New Delhi, Aug 23 (Inditop.com) At least 10 days after Bihar sent seven swine flu samples to Delhi for testing, the state government is still awaiting the results – exposing the central government’s claim that it is equipped to provide the results in 24 hours.
“On Aug 12 we got the result of one sample we (had) sent to the National Institute of Communicable Disease (now National Centre for Disease Control). The day after, we sent seven samples but the test results are still awaited,” Bihar Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, who was in Delhi, told Inditop.
“It’s a matter of concern. We don’t know why there is so much delay,” Yadav said.
Across India, at least three people have died due to late diagnosis of the virus and state health officials believe that unless the central government provides them test results in time, the situation may slip out of hand.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his ministry officials have reiterated many times that the central government provides swine flu test results within 24 hours.
There is no swine flu testing centre in Bihar. The minister said the central government has assured the state that the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute in Patna will be made a H1N1 testing centre.
“Two of our doctors are now undergoing training at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) at Pune,” the minister said.
He said a lot of students from his state go outside to study and are now returning because of rampant swine flu.
“The only positive case from Bihar is a student who had returned from Maharashtra. To control the spread of the influenza A (H1N1), we are screening our students who are returning from places like Pune and Mumbai,” the minister said.
Bihar health officials said that nearly 700 students returning from Maharastra had undergone swine flu screening.
“We are fully geared to tackle the situation. We are concerned about swine flu, but there is no panic in the state,” the minister assured.
Since early May, when India reported its first swine flu case, nearly 2,700 people have been infected by the contagious virus and has left 54 people dead.
Yadav said the state government has set up special swine flu screening centres at major railway stations and airport.
“Bihar is serious about controlling the spread of the virus. We too have set up screening centres at two India-Nepal border points to curb the spread. International borders are important points and extra care has been taken to deal with it.”
