Rights group warns Pakistanis against travelling to India

Islamabad: As swine flu (H1N1 virus) claims nearly 1,000 lives in India, a rights group has advised Pakistanis against traveling to India.

A human and civil rights organization -- Ansar Burney Trust -- has also urged Pakistani citizens who are currently in India to avoid swine flu-affected areas and public places where the disease is more likely to spread, Dawn reported.

The number of those who have contracted the disease in India this year has reached 23,153.

Ansar Burney trust chairman said that the Trust was trying hard to raise awareness about swine flu, which has become an epidemic in India and could spread to Pakistan.

Burney has requested President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take measures to prevent the spread of swine flu.

Hospitals in Pakistan may not be prepared or equipped to deal with a large influx of inpatients suffering from H1N1, a visit to a hospital in Karachi revealed.

In an attempt to stop the spread of the disease, government officials in India had banned public gatherings in some regions of the country.

H1N1 is a seasonal flu virus similar to that found in pigs.

Although it circulates in pigs, the virus cannot be passed on by eating or handled contaminated pork products, which are cooked properly.