Chennai: Following increase in swine flu-infected patients getting admitted to private hospitals across the state, the government has instructed corporate and private hospitals to administer Tamiflu capsules, used to treat the flu symptoms caused by the influenza, for free to the patients.

“The state government has strictly ordered private hospitals to give Tamiflu free of cost to the patients infected by the influenza,” said Dr J. Radhakrishnan, state health secretary.
The senior official who

had administered polio drops at a health camp in the city on Sunday, told reporters during an informal chat that the government has intensified the screening at several transit points and prominent spots like railway stations and bus stands to monitor the people coming from the northern states where the incidence of swine flu is high.

“Of the total positive cases, 115 who have been treated and discharged after getting completely cured,” he said, and denied any shortage of Tamiflu. The senior official reiterated that this infection is under check due to timely intervention.

According to sources, a woman from Tenthamaraikulam, who had tested positive for the swine flu, was on Sunday admitted to the Asaripalam government medical college hospital in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district.

The health department, which has involved about 2 lakh health workers in the battle against the spread of H1N1, has increased its focus on Rajapalayam, Karur, Madurai and
the southern districts where more cases are being reported. With the woman from Kanyakumari district testing positive for H1N1 the number of persons infected has increased to 285 in Tamil Nadu.

According to an official in the directorate of public health, in a majority of instances, the flu was imported from other states.