Patient runs away from home to catch US flight

 
Gopal Kumar was confirmed to be suffering from swine flu and confined to his flat in the city, where he stays with his mother, who is a doctor. When officials reached his home on Thursday, they found him missing. A high alert has been sounded in the state and the authorities at the  Kolkata airport have been informed. "

“Gopal Kumar had to return to the US on Thursday. He had the visa and an air ticket. He seems to have managed to sneak out of the district to catch the flight,” an official said.

Gopal, who studies in Boston, arrived in Jamshedpur on July 23 and complained of sore throat and high fever. His throat swab samples were sent to Kolkata for test, and were confirmed positive for the disease.

First suspected case in Orissa

The first suspected swine flu case in Orissa was detected on Thursday in Cuttack, reports DHNS from Bhubaneshwar. The patient, Birendra Kumar Patra, a marine engineer,  has been admitted to the Sriram Chandra Bhanja medical college and hospital in Cuttack. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik held a high level meeting of health department officials on Thursday to discuss the steps initiated by the administration to handle the swine flu.