Hundreds panic as India reports swine flu death

NEW DELHI — Hundreds of anxious people, many with young children, crowded a hospital Wednesday to be tested for swine flu in a western Indian city that reported the country’s first fatality two days ago.

Panic spread in the city of Pune after a 14-year-old girl died late Monday. Large crowds gathered Wednesday outside Naidu Hospital, the city’s best-known hospital with a quarantine ward and facilities to test for the virus.

Several fights broke out outside the hospital as people jostled while waiting in the long lines.

Local officials have begun testing all students who attended the same school as Rida Sheikh, the dead schoolgirl, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

India has confirmed 574 swine flu cases, according to the Health Ministry. Of those, 470 have been released from government hospitals after recovering.

The ministry has also altered its guidelines for people suffering from flu-like symptoms, asking them to visit government health centers for testing, but allowing all but the most severe cases to return home to await the results. Earlier, anyone reporting to a government hospital to be tested was quarantined while they awaited the outcome.

However, people arriving in India from abroad with flu-like symptoms will continue to be quarantined.