Rajasthan government today claimed to have managed swine flu effectively as a result the mortality rate due to the disease in the state this year was far less as compared to other states.
"As compared to Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab, morality rate in Rajasthan was less this year. The mortality rate in neighbouring states have gone up to 26 per cent while in Rajasthan it was just five per cent," Rajasthan's Principal Secretary of Medical and Health Department Mukesh Sharma told reporters.
Punjab reported 24 deaths out of 43 people found positive for H1N1, 155 deaths out of 1936 positive cases in Gujarat, 58 out of 442 cases in Maharashtra and 10 deaths out of 281 cases in Karnataka, Sharma said.
In Rajasthan, of the total 183 deaths, 92 were female and 91 male, Sharma said.
The official claimed that H1N1 test reports were made available to patients within 24 hour and there was no dearth of Tamiflu tablets in the state.
"The state government was considering to examine a Japanese Kit named 'Immunoflu' for confirm swine flu in a sample as it provides report within five minutes," he said, adding the equipment was costlier than the currently being used.
Asked about the precautions taken by the state Medical Health Department for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting in Ganganagar district tomorrow, Sharma said, "swine flu was not serious in the twin districts of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh."
State medical officers have made all arrangements and screening was done and if required, masks would be made available to any one who needs it, he added, while elaborating about the arrangements made by the government in the wake of people being advised to avoid gatherings to prevent themselves from getting infected with swine flu.
"The disease is in the form of pandemic not epidemic, and samples have been sent to Virology Institute in Pune to test whether there was any mutant of H1N1 prevalent in Rajasthan," he said.
