Kolkata: At a time the country is fighting to check the rise of swine flu cases, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of Bengal, has said that the disease "mostly happens from mosquito bites."
The comments may alarm health experts who say lack of awareness is a major contributor to the spread of the disease.
"For swine flu we are taking all action, we have even kept ready isolated beds, for action as you all know it is nowadays a free earth, all human beings are travelling from here to there, it mostly happens from mosquito bites and various other reasons, to heal the disease is not possible for me, but to get it nicely treated is our duty on humanitarian grounds..." Mamata Banerjee said at a press conference today.
Over 670 people have died of swine flu and at least 10,000 cases have been reported in the country.
191 people have died in Rajasthan, 155 in Gujarat and 90 in Madhya Pradesh, the three worst-hit states.
Swine flu, originally transmitted from pigs to humans, spreads fastest from human to human contact, say doctors.