Six judges of the Supreme Court are suffering from swine flu, following which they did not attend court, an apex court judge said on Tuesday.

Justice DY Chandrachud, while conducting the court proceedings, announced that all apex court judges held a meeting with Chief Justice of India SA Bobde, over the case of six of their colleagues infected by H1N1 virus.

Justice Sanjiv Khanna came to court wearing a mask. Justice Chandrachud said that it was decided that the top court will make vaccines available for inoculation of lawyers.

Chief Justice Bobde suggested during the meeting that lawyers as well as the chief of the bar association should also take the initiative for preventive measures against the disease, Justice Chandrachud added.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held with Supreme Court Bar Association President Dushyant Dave to tackle the health emergency.

Dave told IANS that some foreign delegation members who participated in a judicial conference in the apex court complex recently were infected by the virus.

Two of the judges suffering from swine flu are on the nine-judge Constitution Bench hearing the Sabarimala verdict case, the hearing of which has been delayed as a result.

Swine flu, known by its name of H1N1, was initially understood to be transmitted from pigs to humans. It is caused by a strain of the influenza A virus. 

Cough, fever, sore throat, headache, nausea, and vomiting, and sometimes chills and severe myalgia (fatigue) are symptoms that people present. .

H1N1 was first detected in April 2009 in the US, and is contagious — spreading person to person. A vaccine is available against the flu which the WHO has now declared to be a seasonal flu.

Recently, there was panic again after SAP shut down its offices as two employees tested positive for the disease, but the disease is post-pandemic, which means it is now a part of the human population, and hence, there will be seasonal periods where swine flu cases spike in different parts of the world. 

With IANS inputs