HYDERABAD (TIP): Andhra Pradesh sounded high alert and set up swine flu wards in government hospitals in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Guntur following the outbreak of H1N1 Influenza virus in the neighbouring Telangana where the toll reached 21.

The move comes after 26 of 49 people tested positive for swine flu in Andhra Pradesh. “We have sounded alert after 49 people complained of symptoms akin to swine flu. We feel that the people are not educated enough on the precautionary measures to be taken,” Minister for Higher Education and Human Resources Ganta Srinivasa Rao said in Visakhapatnam after visiting the swine flu ward at King George Hospital. Meanwhile, swine flu toll rose to 21 in Telangana with three more succumbing to the virus on Thursday at Gandhi Hospital here.