Four more swine flu cases in Pune, toll rise to 75

The swine flu toll in the city has risen to 75 with four more persons succumbing to the virus, health officials said today.

The victims were identified as Soyab Shaikh (5), Sanjay Sakpal (35), Jyoti Pardeshi (45), and Trupti Magar (21), who died in different city hospitals.

The pandemic, which started in the city around three months back, has continued unabated with periodic aggravation in positive cases especially after the recent Ganesh and Navratri festivals.

The health department has started dispensing anti-viral Tamiflu tablets to almost all symptomatic cases without waiting for throat swab test reports from National Institute of Virology (NIV).

The district administration was also worried over the fall-out of overcrowding at election rallies ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls.