Four deaths due to Swine flu in Delhi, at least 1 case in Chandigarh

Delhi swine flu death toll climbs to four

TNN | 13 January 2015, 8:15 AM IST

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NEW DELHI: The national capital on Monday recorded the fourth death due to swine flu with a 44-year-old woman from west Delhi succumbing to the H1N1 virus at a private hospital.

"The woman was undergoing treatment for various ailments and was detected with swine flu recently. She suffered from uncontrolled diabetes and breathlessness which further aggravated her condition. She was in an extremely critical condition," said Charan Singh, additional director in charge of public health, state health department.

Seven new cases were reported on Monday, taking the total figure to 50 so far this year.

The affected include an 18-year-old girl from Dakshinpuri undergoing treatment at Safdarjung, a 34-year-old woman from Brijpuri being treated at Lady Hardinge, a 45-year-old woman from Patel Nagar admitted at RML and a 59-year-old man from Laxmi Nagar at Holy Family hospital.

All of them tested positive for swine flu at the National Centre for Disease Control, Dr Singh said.

Others include a 37-year-old woman from Kirti Nagar, an 81-year-old from Defence Colony and a 19-year-old from Sidharth Extension. They are being treated in private hospitals.

Keeping in view the rising number of cases, the health department has procured 1,000 capsules of Tamiflu to combat the disease and would be stocking up on more medicines from time to time.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. All designated hospitals have been put on alert and directed to follow the standard operating procedure for treatment of swine flu," a senior official said. He said that health personnel from all districts have been sensitized about the standard procedures.

Source

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 8

A 40-year-old resident of Sector 38 was admitted to the GMSH, Sector 16, with the suspected H1N1 virus.

The patient is learnt to have travelled to New Delhi recently. Doctors suspect that she may have contracted the infection during her visit to New Delhi as many cases of swine flu have been reported from there and a death was also reported a week ago.

She was admitted to the isolated ward in GMSH-16 after she complained of prolonged flu symptoms at the flu screening OPD.

Her throat swab samples have been sent to the PGIMER virology lab for confirmation of swine flu. Reports will be obtained within two to three days.“ We are making all possible efforts to get to the source of infection in patients to ensure that the virus is not transmitted to other residents,” said UT Director Health Service (DHS), Dr VK Gagneja.

On Wednesday, a 20-year-old woman from Sector 42 had tested positive for swine flu. The woman was examined at Max hospital, Mohali, on Tuesday and after obtaining her report, the UT Health Department was informed about it. This was the first case of swine flu on the city this year. Immediately after the confirmation, she was quarantined at her residence.

Last year, three cases of swine flu were reported from different parts of the city. No deaths were reported from the city. Swine flu is an infection caused due to transmission of a deadly H1N1 virus. Prolonged flu, blood in sputum and fever are the common symptoms of the disease and it can prove to be fatal if undiagnosed for long.

Washing your hands often is an effective way of preventing the infection. And the disease is curable. Tamiflu, an oral medicine, cures swine flu. The medicine is available at all the three government hospitals, including the PGIMER, GMSH-16 and GMCH-32, free of cost. Private clinics and hospitals can get the medicine from the UT Health Department.

Source

Comment: It is recommended that everyone at risk should consider taking the Swine Flu (H1N1) vaccination to prevent the chance of serious disease. Since this vaccination also has 2 other strains of Influenza virus, it can be useful in reducing the regular flu like fever cough & cold that occurs in winters and rainy seasons as well.