New Delhi, Aug 10 - Swine flu is increasing on a 'vast scale' and India is gearing up to tackle its spread, union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said Monday of the infection that has killed six people and affected over 850 in the country.

'We have to prepare for the coming months. Swine flu is increasing on a vast scale, and on the basis of the large population of India it is likely that more swine flu cases will occur, and we should be ready to handle it,' Azad told reporters after holding an almost three-hour-long meeting with senior health ministry officials.

'We have unfortunately six deaths in the country,' he said.

Azad said ever since swine flu entered the country almost three months ago, the health ministry found that communication with state governments was time consuming and they have decided to rope in senior bureaucrats to assist them.

'The cabinet secretary has decided to provide us some joint secretaries and additional secretaries from other ministries who will be rushed to states along with health ministry teams. These officials will press upon state health officials to identify more government and private laboratories to handle large number of swine flu cases,' he said.

'We have decided to allow private labs to test for H1N1. We have set the guidelines and have sent it to all state governments,' he said.