Eight persons have been admitted as new suspected cases of bird flu at the sub-district hospital here and are under observation in a specially-erected isolation ward.
With the eight new cases admitted Monday following door-to-door medical checks, the total number of patients under observation in the isolation ward is 11, Civil Surgeon Dr M V Munde told PTI.
"There are eleven patients now admitted in the isolated ward for suspected bird flu, including eight admitted on Monday and three others who were admitted on Sunday," Munde said.
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The blood samples of all these people were sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune for testing and the reports are expected in three days, he added.
The three patients, who were admitted on Sunday for observation, were those who were in contact with the deceased Ganesh Sonar, who died in Surat last week, and two of his family members, Munde said.
Asked why the mother-son duo were given permission to return home, he said "They were discharged Monday under special circumstances as they had to perform special prayers for the deceased Ganesh Sonar along with other family members."
However, they were persuaded and convinced and brought back to the hospital, he added. Munde said there were no human deaths due to suspected bird flu infection.