Thaindian News

Bangalore, Sep 24 (IANS) With three new swine flu deaths being reported in Karnataka, the death toll due to the H1N1 virus in the state reached 83, a health official said here Thursday.
While two men succumbed to swine flu in Bangalore, the third case was that of a five-year-old girl from Udupi.

Bangalore’s fatalities included a 37-year-old man who was admitted to a private hospital in the city Sep 17, who died Sep 19 and a 66-year-old man admitted Sep 15 to a government hospital, who succumbed to the virus on the same day.

The five year old girl who was admitted to a government hospital in Udupi died Tuesday, after she developed serious complications.

However, reports confirming that all three victims tested positive for the virus were received only Sep 23, a health official said.

Although swine flu death reports from Karnataka have been registered on a daily basis, experts say that “the worst is almost over”.

“Taking into account the ratio of suspected to positive H1N1 virus cases, we can say that swine flu related death cases are declining in the state. We believe the worst is almost over,” I.R. Perumal, principal secretary for health, told IANS.

“People should immediately check with doctors if they have any swine flu like symptoms. According to our observation of death cases due to H1N1 virus, we’ve found that delay in treatment of the disease and administration of Tamiflu are the primary reasons behind Karnataka’s death toll,” said Perumal.

Out of the 83 swine flu death reports in Karnataka, 61 were registered in Bangalore.

On Wednesday, 17 fresh cases tested positive for the H1N1 virus in the state. Of them, 13 were reported in Bangalore, three in Chitradurga and one in Manipal.

With this the total number of positive cases in the state reached 934.

-