Nationwide swine flu toll mounts to 23

A 26-year-old teacher became the first swine flu casualty in Bengaluru while five persons, including an AIDS patient, succumbed to the disease in worst-hit Pune on Thursday, taking the nationwide death toll to 23 even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said panic should not be created and government is doing its best.

The Bangalore teacher, identified as Roopa who worked in a private school, tested positive for the virus and was also undergoing treatment at St. Philomena Hospital for respiratory disorders, health authorities said. She died on Wednesday.

8-month-old Swabhiman Kamble, 37-year-old Archana Kolhe, 75-year-old Bharti Goyal, 70-year-old Parubhai Shinde and 44-year-old HIV positive Prabhakar Wairager died in Pune where the toll mounted to 15. Wairager was admitted to government-owned Sassoon Hospital on Thursday afternoon for swine flu and his end came in the evening, hospital sources said.

The spurt in swine flu cases across the country came up for threadbare discussion at a meeting of the Union Cabinet in Delhi when Singh asked Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to work towards restoring confidence of the people and ensuring that panic is not created. Sources said Azad made a presentation on the flu situation before the Cabinet following which the issue was discussed in great detail. Expressing concern over the swine flu situation, Singh is understood to have said this was a major problem before the country and the government sector is doing its best.