2 co-fliers of infected Indian quarantined

The H1N1 influenza scare threatens to go out of hand in India with two co-passengers of the infected Hyderabad man who had tested positive last week showing symptoms of the ailment.

Three of them were among 156 on board the Emirates airline flight from New York to Hyderabad via Dubai that landed in Hyderabad last Wednesday. The mother and son, who have been quarantined at a hospital in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, are relatives of the infected 23-year-old, a student at Indiana University (US). The student, quarantined in a hospital in Hyderabad will be discharged soon.

The woman and her 26-year-old son, a student of a university in New Jersey, were asymptomatic on arrival but complained of cough and sore throat on Sunday, four days after their flight landed in Hyderabad.

They are undergoing treatment for flu even as results of their clinical samples are awaited. The three are being treated with Oseltamivir, an anti-viral drug. Emirates clarified that the 23-year-old had not declared health issues and passed the thermal scan at Dubai airport.

The airline said it is monitoring the health of cabin crew on board that flight. Health officials fear if the mother-son duo tests positive, chances of the virus spreading in India would increase as they had attended a wedding.

Another air passenger was referred to hospital in Delhi after he showed signs of flu.
Meanwhile, the toll in the US rose to six.