Swine flu kills 50 people in last 20 days in Rajasthan; government accused of negligence

Jaipur: At least 51 people have died of swine flu in Rajasthan over the past 21 days. More than 100 people were detected with swine flu on Monday alone. The government’s claims of providing medical attention have fallen flat and the issue is being debated in the ongoing assembly session. The government said that all the efforts are being made to control the spread of the contagious diseases and medical treatment is being provided at all the major hospitals. There were however reports of the delay in test reports.

More than 1300 people tested positive for swine flu in January alone. Swine flu is being reported in almost all districts of the state with the maximum number of deaths in Jodhpur and Jaipur. Nearly 20 people have died of swine flu in Jodhpur, while five in Jaipur. Deaths have also been reported in Sikar, Nagaur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Sriganganagar, Barmer, Pratapgarh, Kota, Tonk Ajmer, Pali, Jalore, Bikaner, Churu and Rajsamand.

Former health minister in the BJP government Kalicharan Saraf accused health minister Raghu Sharma of negligence and lethargy in dealing with the disease. Raghu Sharma said that the state government is monitoring the situation and taking all the necessary steps to prevent its spread.

The state government had cancelled the leaves of medical staff including doctors at the government hospitals in the state; however there were reports that the doctors were not reporting for duty despite this.