One more swine flu case; India says US should screen passengers

A nine-year-old boy on Tuesday tested positive for swine flu taking the total number of cases to 31 in the country even as the govt said the US should "suo motu" start screening outbound passengers for symptoms of the disease.

New Delhi has also asked the developed countries to take action to contain and check the spread of swine flu at their end which would help stop the spread of the infection to the developing nations.

The fresh case was reported from Hyderabad where the boy arrived on 14th June from from New Jersey via London. "He has tested positive. He is on treatment. All his contacts are being traced," a Health Ministry official said.

Three passengers, including a staffer of a leading international airlines, have been quarantined at a hospital in Bangalore while a 22-year-old passenger was hospitalised in Kochi with symptoms of swine flu.

Of the 31 cases, 11 have been discharged. Rest of the passengers are all stable, the official said.

With mounting cases of swine flu in people coming from US, the Health Ministry said the US should "suo motu" start screening outbound passengers for symptoms of the disease.

Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Trivedi said the US is the "main source" of the virus for India with many travellers from that country testing positive for the flu.