'We can't waste money by conducting tests on everybody who want to undergo them. This will affect our efforts to check the spread of the virus by treating those who need it.'

The throat and nasal samples of those with suspected symptoms of swine flu are still being sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Delhi, as the proposed testing facility at the Institute of Preventive Medicines (IPM) here is yet to start functioning.

'Our advice to all the people suffering from cold, fever, cough is to stay at home and not to come to the Chest Hospital. They should consult doctors near them. They can come here only if these symptoms continue for over one week and if they continue to have high fever,' said Subhakar.

He denied that a person died of swine flu at the Chest Hospital on Thursday. 'A television channel is running a scrolling that a person died of swine flu here. This is completely false,' he said adding that action can be initiated under Epidemic Act against those spreading rumours.

Andhra Pradesh has not reported any swine flu death so far though the first swine flu case in India was reported here on May 16. The state has so far reported 79 cases, including four from coastal city of Visakhapatnam. Of these, 72 people have been discharged.

According to Health Minister D. Nagender, 276,000 passengers were screened for swine flu at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here since the last week of April.