Mizzima News

New Delhi (Mizzima) - A Burmese refugee woman in India’s capital New Delhi was taken to hospital on suspicion of being infected with influenza type A (H1N1) on Sunday.

A medical officer at the Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday told Mizzima that the Burmese woman, Ngia Ri Li  (25) was admitted at the hospital’s ‘swine-flu casualty’ room, as she was suspected of having positive A (H1N1) virus on Sunday.  

“She was given medicine and is under observation,” the officer said, “The report is yet to come. We are waiting.”

Khei Chi, husband of Ngia Ri Li said his wife, who is nine months pregnant, showed signs of slight fever on Friday. Khei Chi and Ngia Ri Li, are Chin ethnics and are living in Sagar Pur in Janak Puri in New Delhi’s western suburbs.

“She got a headache, cough, fever and body ache.  Her temperature was fluctuating,” said the husband adding that he rushed her to the hospital on Sunday.

After his wife was admitted to the hospital, Khei Chi was also given Tami flu as prevention. A doctor confirmed that Khei Chi was not infected.

Several hundred Burmese refugees reside in Western Delhi’s suburban areas of Vikaspuri and Janak Puri. While many are recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), several others are undocumented.

Since the first outbreak, the infection toll in India has drastically increased and according to an IANS report citing Indian Health Ministry, so far a total of 8,000 are infected and the death toll has reached 257.

In early June, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of the flu as a pandemic as the virus is spreading globally.