As a 50-year-old woman in the city became the 13th swine flu victim in Karnataka, the state government has sought the Centre’s nod to set up two more viral testing labs to deal with the spurt in H1N1 cases.
The woman died last night at Thirumala hospital here even as 27 confirmed cases were reported in the state yesterday, pushing the total positive HINI cases to 317. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said the Government has distributed Tamiflu tablets received from Government of India to all major hospitals and district hospitals.
“In fact, we had no viral testing lab in our state and now we have two, one in Bangalore and one in Manipal,” he said in a letter to Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. “However, there is a need for another two laboratories, which may be sanctioned immediately.”
He said round-the-clock screening is being conducted at Bangalore and Mangalore international airports and more than 3.60 lakh passengers have been referred for screening. Isolation wards have been kept ready to admit and treat suspected H1N1 cases in all major and district hospitals.
Yeddyurappa said to contain the widespread pandemic, the central and state governments have to work jointly with “good cooperation, coordination and mutual understanding”. He invited Azad to visit Karnataka, review the situation and give his suggestions.
