First three cases of swine flu have been detected in the city till Tuesday.
Parvez Alam (22), an engineering student of Aligarh College of Technology and Engineering, and Neena Verma, a scientist associated with city-based Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, have been tested positive apart from 52-year-old Anjali, a resident of Agamkuan.
According to the civil surgeon's office, both Alam and Verma might have got infected from the disease during their visit to Delhi.
However, the civil surgeon's office is clueless about Anjali's status that whether or not he visited Delhi before contaminating the disease. All three patients got their confirmatory test done at Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences.
Sources said the three positive cases of swine flu have been reported after two suspected cases of the disease which were later tested negative.
The civil surgeon's office claims that city hospitals were prepared enough to tackle the cases of swine flu. Prashant Kumar, an epidemiologist with civil surgeon's office, said: "At least 40 wards have been created at the Agamkuan-based Infectious Disease Hospital for the treatment of swine flu whereas at Patna Medical College and Hospital and Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, 10 wards have been created for the same. Five more wards have been created at Guru Gobind Singh Hospital."
Talking about the symptoms of the disease, physician Diwakar Tejaswi said: "Common cold, cough, fever, loss of appetite, loose motion are the common symptoms of the disease. If one is also having chest pain and respiratory distress along with these symptoms, then it could be even more serious. There is a vaccine available for swine flu. The vaccine is called flu vaccine with H1N1 ingredient and one dose of this vaccine is available around Rs 700 in market. As a part of prevention, one should not get along with people having problem of cough and cold, fever. People should also wear mask as this disease spreads through droplet infection, cough and body secretions like nasal secretion."
Countrywide, swine flu has claimed 34 more raising the toll to 875 across the country even as the number of affected people breached the 15,000 mark on Tuesday.
Collated data by the health ministry said 875 people have died in various states till February 23 while 15,413 people have been affected by the disease. Health minister J.P. Nadda on Tuesday confirmed in both the Houses of Parliament that the cases of influenza - currently being reported - are of H1N1 is the same virus, which took a huge toll during 2009 and there is "no mutation" in the virus.
He said Oseltamivir drug used during the time of pandemic 2009-10 remains effective for treatment now as well.