With the first case of A(H1N1) making its entry into Tamil Nadu, the mammoth task of identifying other air passengers, who might have been in contact with the two persons who tested positive, has begun.
In accordance, the Directorate of Public Health has worked out an intensive strategy to identify the persons who travelled with the family of three, two of whom tested positive for the A(H1N1), and are quarantined at the Coimbatore Medical College.
According to the Union Ministry of Health, the blood and serum tests of a 35-year-old woman and her five-year-old son came up positive for the A(H1N1) virus on Monday. The daughter, who accompanied them, is negative, but remains in quarantine because of prolonged contact with the family. The family admitted themselves to the quarantine ward of the CMC on May 28 after coming down with flu-like symptoms. They had reached Chennai from Boston, United States, on May 27. From there, they took a flight to Coimbatore on May 28 to go to their house at Kalapatti on the city outskirts.
Village health nurses will keep a watch on the family’s house, Deputy Director of Health Services V. Vijayalakshmi said on Tuesday. The Coimbatore Corporation is being informed of the addresses of other passengers who had travelled by the local flight along with the family. Of the 55 passengers on the Kingfisher flight from Chennai to Coimbatore, the health authorities had traced about 43 persons by Tuesday evening. Dr. Vijayalakshmi said 28 of them were from Coimbatore and five, including the quarantined family, were from the Coimbatore rural limits. Four persons were residents of Chennai and another four belonged to Chengelput. One male passenger belonged to Palakkad in Kerala. Dr. Vijayalakshmi said he was contacted over phone and told to remain at home for a week and not to mingle with anyone in the neighbourhood. The local health authorities there were also informed. Of the 12 untraceable passengers, four were foreign nationals from Los Angeles, U.S. Efforts were on to locate them with the help of their contact numbers provided by the airport authorities in Chennai.
Swine flu cases in Tamilnadu
Swine Flu in Andhra Pradesh
