Thaindian News

Pune/Mumbai/Bangalore/New Delhi, Aug 13 (IANS) A nine-month-old infant and three women succumbed to swine flu in India, taking the country’s toll to 21 Thursday amid hectic efforts to curb the spread of the contagious virus.
Also on Thursday, 90 positive cases were reported from across the country — Pune reporting a maximum of 43 cases, Mumbai 18, Kolhapur two, Delhi 16, Bangalore nine, Mangalore one, and Gurgaon one - taking the total number of such patients to 1,284 while 694 of them are at various stages of recovery, the health ministry said.

The latest victims were nine-month-old Swabhiman Kamble, Archana Kolhe, 37, and Bharati Goyal, 26 - all in the worst-hit city of Pune in Maharashtra - and Rupa, a 26-year-old teacher in Bangalore — the first swine flu case in Karnataka.

Infant Kamble died at the Sahyadri Munot Hospital in Pune late Wednesday, an official said Thursday.

The official at the Maharashtra Swine Flu Control Room told IANS the infant was hospitalised early this week with flu-like symptoms. In between, he was also taken for a check-up to the Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.

Kolhe died in a private hospital, Shri Nursing Home, around 3.45 p.m., the Swine Flu Control Room officials said.

Goyal died Thursday in Pune’s Sassoon Hospital just before noon. She was on the ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU), Joint Director (Health Services) P.S. Chavan told IANS.

Her test report was received this evening, confirming that she died of swine flu.

This was the 16th swine flu death in Maharashtra and 13th in Pune. Two people have died in Mumbai and one in Nashik.

In Maharashtra’s neighbouring Karnataka, Rupa died at Bangalore’s St. Philomena Hospital. Her test results, received Thursday, confirmed she died of swine flu.

“Her throat and nasal swabs tests have confirmed that the patient was suffering from the influenza A (H1N1) virus,” hospital director Shankar Prasad told reporters Thursday.

She was admitted in the hospital Aug 7.

“The patient was admitted with breathing problems coupled with pneumonia. Her condition started deteriorating Tuesday and she died Wednesday afternoon. We got the confirmation that the woman was suffering from swine flu only Wednesday night,” added Prasad.

According to hospital sources, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), where the test was done, confirmed that Rupa was suffering from H1N1 virus late Wednesday night.

With this, India’s swine flu toll has reached 21. Apart from 16 deaths in Maharashtra, one death each has been reported from Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Since Reeda Sheikh, 14 -year-old schoolgirl died of swine flu in Pune Aug 3, authorities across the country have been on alert and efforts are on to contain the spread of the virus.

At least three cases continue to be critical in the Sassoon Hospital and two in Mumbai’s Hiranandani Hospital, the official said.

In a bid to curb the spread of the contagious virus, authorities have ordered cinema halls and multiplexes in Pune to remain shut till Aug 18 and the wholesale flower market till Aug 17. The city’s vegetable market, ordered closed Thursday afternoon, will reopen Friday noon.

The Maharashtra government also granted permission to five more private hospitals to test and treat swine flu patients - Bharatiya Vidyapeeth, Dinanth Mangeshkar Hospital, Sahyadri Hospital and Nobel Hospital, and KEM Hospital.

For the first time, two senior political leaders, Suresh Kalmadi of the Congress who represents Pune in the Lok Sabha, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Prakash Jawadekar visited several hospitals where swine flu patients are undergoing treatment.

The district administrations of Satara and Raigad have appealed to people to refrain from visiting the areas for the next few days in view of the swine flu situation.

Raigad District Collector Subhash Sonawane said there are a couple of suspected swine flu cases in the district, while Satara District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said the district has 31 positive cases and seven suspected swine flu patients.

“We shall not enforce it (the advisory) in any manner, it’s a precautionary measure since Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are popular hill stations which attract huge crowds during weekends and festivals,” Deshmukh told IANS.