West Bengal reports highest number of swine flu cases

The highest number of new swine flu cases in a day in West Bengal – 34 – since the outbreak of the disease in January was reported on Thursday, though no fresh death has been reported.
The condition of senior CPM leader Gautam Deb who has been admitted to a Kolkata hospital with swine flu was stated to be "clinically stable." A six-member medical board constituted by the hospital has gone through Deb's reports.
Out of 34 new cases, 15 were from the city, nine from South 24 Parganas, five from North 24 Parganas, three from Howrah and one case each from Hooghly and Purba Medinipore districts, he said.
Only one person has been discharged from a private hospital after he recuperated, he said.
However, the state has instructed one of the three private hospitals to stop conducting test for swine flu- infection after it "broke the protocol and violated rules required for the diagnosis of the disease", Dey said.
"We have found that one private hospital has been breaking protocol while conducting the tests for swine flu infection. So we have asked them to stop testing and report us," he said.
Apart from the state-run city-based National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), the Health Department has approved three private hospitals to conduct tests for swine flu infection. PTI