2 swine flu deaths in Delhi, India toll 44

NEW DELHI: In the highest death toll so far in a single day, at least 9 swine flu deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the nationwide H1N1
toll to 44. In the last 24 hours, four more deaths were reported from Karnataka, two each in Delhi and Gujarat and one from Pune.

Karnataka now accounts for the second highest number of swine flu deaths, 11, after Maharashtra, which has reported 24 deaths, with Pune alone recording 16 of them. Five people have died in Gujarat and one each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Despite the slew of measures to check its spread and break the contamination cycle, as many as 159 fresh cases of the flu were reported from across the country on Thursday, taking the total number of those afflicted by the disease to 2,401.

Delhi recorded its first two casualties when Samrat Pandeya (31) collapsed on Thursday morning at the government-run Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, while Renu Gupta (38) succumbed to the virus on Wednesday night there, hospital medical superintendent N K Chaturvedi said.

Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, where the two patients died of cardiac arrest, said both were brought in late for treatment after their condition had worsened at home. But the families of the victims maintained they had consulted private doctors when the first flu-like symptoms appeared. The family of Renu Gupta, 38 — the city’s first H1N1 influenza fatality who died late Wednesday night — said she had consulted a general physician after returning from Singapore with a sore throat and was prescribed general medication.

In Karnataka, two women, Krishnaveni (45) and Kalpana (36) died in hospitals on August 17 while N Prema (23) succumbed to the virus on August 16. The other victim, 45-year old Edward Mohan died in another hospital on Wednesday. The swab test results of two of the victims confirming the H1N1 status were received on Wednesday and of another on August 17, director Health and Family Welfare Usha Vasunkar said.

Meanwhile, the Bombay high court has asked the Centre to file an affidavit within a week on the measures taken for tackling swine flu epidemic.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/