Four swine flu deaths this winter: Punjab official

Swine flu has so far claimed lives of four persons, including a woman, in Punjab this winter even as authorities have geared up to tackle H1N1 influenza virus, a state government official said today.
"Till now, in this winter season, four patients have died of swine flu," state nodal officer for Swine Flu (Punjab) Gagandeep Singh Grover said today.
The deceased belong to Amritsar, Patiala, Moga and Muktsar, he said.
A total of 66 samples were sent for testing swine flu cases, Grover said, adding, "Out of which 12 samples were tested positive for the influenza."
He said an advisory has been issued to hospitals, both government as well as private, to provide immediate treatment to suspected patients without conducting tests.

Asked whether the number of patients have risen because of cold conditions prevailing in the region, he said that the influx of patients has not been observed so far.
Sufficient stock of Tamiflu has been made available to all the hospitals in the state, he said. "This time, we are covering all the villages for providing medicine to the patients," he added.
Government has already urged people not to ignore symptoms like high temperature along with cough, cold and problem in breathing and they should immediately report to their nearest health centre for treatment.