Hyderabad, September 13: : Sending alarm bells ringing in the city, two persons died of swine flu on Saturday, taking the death toll in the state to six. In both the cases, the patients had no travel history. Another H1N1 influenza suspect, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, K Srikant, also succumbed on Saturday morning. Authorities said they have sent his swab samples for confirmatory tests.
The swine flu deaths confirmed by district health authorities were those of 27-year-old T Sunil Kumar and 42-year-old J Raja Babu, who were being treated at Global Hospital, L B Nagar and Gandhi Hospital respectively. Sunil Kumar was a resident of Mansoorabad, Hyderabad and was admitted to the hospital on September 8 complaining of fever, cough and severe breathlessness. He was moved to the ICU on the same day and put on the ventilator but he succumbed to the virus on early Saturday morning. Sunil had tested positive for swine flu on September 11 and was on medication, said Dr D V Prasad of Global Hospital.
J Raja Babu, a Secretariat employee and resident of Ramnagar, died at Gandhi Hospital on Friday night. Raja was working at the printing press of the Secretariat and died seven hours after being admitted to Gandhi Hospital.
District health authorities said that Raja had undergone treatment at Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) from September 8 to 11. On September 10, his sample tested positive for swine flu and after seeing his deteriorating condition, the KIMS authorities shifted him to Gandhi Hospital on September 11.
Dr E A Ashok Kumar, superintendent, Gandhi Hospital said Raja had bilateral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress and was put on ventilator support but he died at around 9.30 pm on Friday.
Meanwhile, nine more people tested positive for swine flu on Saturday. The health authorities are now planning to
set up screening centres at the area hospitals of Golconda and Nampally as well apart from the other designated screening centres.
—Agencies