![Swine flu returns to Telangana, 68 cases reported since August 1](http://media.assettype.com/thenewsminute%2Fimport%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FSwine_Flu_3x2.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
The state of Telangana has witnessed sixty-eight reported cases of swine flu infection in the past 20 days, triggering an alarm.
PTI quoted a bulletin issued by the state government that said 461 samples had been tested from August 1 to August 19, and 68 of them tested positive for the virus.
However, the bulletin added that no deaths had been reported, and the state had a sufficient stock of medicines and testing kits available at government hospitals.
On the last day of July, a 16-year-old boy from Telangana succumbed to swine flu at Hyderabad's Gandhi Hospital, resulting in the second death in a single week.
“We have had three deaths due to swine flu in the month of July. The boy had been admitted in bad condition and he died within two days of admission despite medical care,” Dr JC Reddy, superintendent Gandhi Hospital told Deccan Chronicle, at the time.
A 23-year-old pregnant woman had died due to complications resulting from swine flu at the same hospital earlier that week.
Authorities had said that swine flu cases were being reported in the city again, as the temperature had gone down.
Swine flu is an infection caused by one of several Swine Influenza Viruses (SIV), with the H1N1 strain being the most common in India and Telangana.
The H1N1 virus spreads when you touch an infected surface or breathe droplets of coughs and sneezes that are in the air.
The symptoms are the same as the seasonal flu, also known as viral fever. They include cough, sore throat, and body aches. Young children, pregnant women, and older adults are more likely to develop complications.
The state-run Gandhi Hospital, is the nodal centre to treat swine flu patients in Hyderabad.
The nodal agency for testing and confirming swine flu virus for AP and Telangana is the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM).
IANS inputs