In view of rising swine flu cases and deaths across the country, the Centre has directed the States to keep a check on prices of related diagnostic kits and drugs to ensure their easy availability to the people suffering from the deadly disease. "We have got reports that private hospitals are charging exorbitant fee for conducting the swine flu tests from patients in some States including Delhi. This is highly unacceptable. We have asked all the States to ensure that drugs, diagnostic kits and tests related to swine flu are of standard quality and available at right prices," a senior official from the Union Health Ministry said.
There have been some media reports that private hospitals have been charging from Rs5,000 to Rs9,000 for conducting swine flu tests, the officials said, adding that the matter is being looked into. The government has also said that it was "closely" monitoring the spurt in swine flu also called as H1N1 virus cases in the country even as 11 more deaths due to the disease were reported in Rajasthan, one of the worst-affected States.
The Union Health Ministry has said that the countrywide toll from swine flu had reached 485 till February 12, which is already more than double the number of deaths reported in the whole of 2014. “While three people each died in Jaipur and Jodhpur, there were two casualties in Ajmer followed by one each in Nagaur, Bharatpur and Kota," the official said.
Rajasthan and Gujarat have witnessed the maximum number of deaths so far due to the disease while Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, too, have been significantly affected by swine flu. The toll from swine flu till Saturday in Gujarat was 136 even as the State reported 130 new cases. In 2014, there were 937 reported cases of swine flu in the country and the disease had claimed 218 lives.