NEW DELHI, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- India is virtually in the grip of A/H1N1 flu with the virus gradually spreading across the country and claiming its eighth victim Tuesday, a 13-year-old girl from the western city of Pune.

    More than 1,000 cases of the new flu strain have been reported across India.

    Pune, which accounts for five of the eight deaths nationwide, has recorded the highest number of cases, followed by the national capital where some 228 cases have been confirmed so far. It is also the worst affected place where a number of schools have been shut temporarily over fears of children contracting the disease.

    All these indicate that the country is in panic, despite government's repeated assurance that it has enough stocks of the anti-flu drug, Tamiflu, and adequate flu testing centers, say experts.

    "The flu has killed over 800 people across the globe. India is no exception. People are panicky of the flu outbreak hitting the country. More than the reported cases, people are now awfully fearful in the wake of the eight deaths," said Dr. Deepa Roy, a consultant physician based in Delhi.

    "Though the government is insisting that it has adequate testing centers, only some government laboratories are equipped to test the virus. The private medical centers are not authorized to conduct testing of the flu," Deepa Roy said.

    Last Monday showed the beginning of fatalities when a 14-year-old girl became the first person in the country who died of the new flu. Over the weekend, three more people died of the flu in western India -- a 43-year-old Non Resident Indian businessman in Gujarat state, a 42-year-old teacher in Pune city and a 53-year-old woman in Mumbai.

    On Tuesday, 13-year-old Shruti Gawade, a student of Ahilyabai School, became the latest victim. She had developed acute respiratory distress syndrome after having tested positive on Saturday.

    The Malaysian coach at the World Badminton Championship in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad is undergoing test after complaining of flu symptoms.

    "Panic is growing among the people with flu deaths, making it to the front pages of newspapers and main TV news. Several schools in the national capital have closed temporarily as fears grow about children contracting the flu," contended Delhi-based prominent child specialist Dr. Ravi Pramanik.

    "In Delhi, health officials are claiming that people are panicking because the symptoms of swine flu and common influenza are similar. But, people have no other option than to panic," said Ravi Pramanik.

    Indian Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has also admitted that the flu is spreading.

    "The number of swine flu cases is rising. We have to work a little harder. All state governments have been asked to set up their own swine flu helplines, create more quarantine wards not only in their hospitals but also in the big private hospitals," he told the media in the national capital on Monday.

    He also urged people not to panic, but to look out for symptoms and get treated.

    "But, there are still concerns over the ability of the badly run and under-equipped government hospitals to handle the rising tide of patients. The 18 swine flu testing centers with 27,000 testing kits available in India are not sufficient with the number of swine flu cases rising in the country. There is a need for a public-private partnership between the hospitals to tackle the flu, this was also said by Minister Dinesh Trivedi," said Professor Ajay Singh, an expert in India.

    What's more shocking is that the increasing number of flu cases in India is making the Non-Resident Indians (NRI) wary of coming back to the country in this festival season.

    In fact, a number of Gujaratis living abroad have decided to cancel their India visit during the time of the Hindu festival because of fear of the flu.

    "There are about 1.5 million Gujaratis based in the United States and 700,000 in the United Kingdom. Most Gujarati families settled abroad make a trip to India to celebrate Navratri but this time around things are very different," NRI business Desai, who was on a brief tour to the country, told the media Monday while boarding a flight to the United States.

    "Many have issued advisories urging their relatives not to visit this season. And if a visit is unavoidable, they should get undergo medical examination before entering the state."

    Meanwhile, India has said that it will import the flu A/H1N1 vaccine from the company that develops it first.

    "Three Indian companies -- Serum Institute, Bharat Biotech and Panacea Biotech -- are working towards developing India's indigenous flu vaccine which will take around six months. Only one of them has started animal trials. However, should any country develop the vaccine, we will import it for our doctors, paramedics and health workers who are at highest risk of infection," the health minister said.

Special Report:  World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu