Pune/Chennai, August 10: The death toll from Influenza A(H1N1) or swine flu rose to six on Monday with the death of a 35-year-old ayurvedic doctor and a four-year-old boy in Pune and Chennai, respectively.
The medic, Babasahib Mane, died in the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune this morning, becoming the third person in the worst-hit Maharashtra city to succumb to swine flu, a senior health official said.
Mane was ailing for sometime and blood had been found in his sputum in the last couple of days, he said.
In Chennai, a four-year-old boy, who was admitted to a private hospital with kidney and liver-related complications and had tested positive for swine flu, died this morning, health officials said. The boy had also been suffering from asthma. This is the first case of flu death in the city.
“The boy was in a very critical condition. He had been suffering from asthma and he had been taken from one hospital to another for various complications. Ultimately he landed up in this hospital for a kidney-related problem… and they found the boy testing positive (for swine flu),” Tamil Nadu Health Secretary VK Subburaj said.
The boy, who was on a ventilator, died following “multi-organ failure,” S Ilango, Director of Public Health, said.
Pune had reported India’s first swine flu death on August 03 with 14-year-old Reeda Sheikh succumbing to the disease.
On Saturday, 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai and 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Tukaram Kokre from Pune had died of swine flu. Pravin Patel, a 43-year-old NRI, died in Ahmedabad yesterday.
A total of 82 fresh cases were reported from across the country yesterday, taking the total number of positive cases to 864.
Govt in huddle
With the number of cases rising rapidly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in and reviewed the situation with Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday.
Singh asked Azad to ensure that his ministry co-ordinates with state governments on efforts to contain the spread of the infection and set up a panel of experts to correctly disseminate information on A(H1N1) virus.
Azad has asked people having flu symptoms to take precautions and stay away from public places till their status of infection was clear.
The minister today also met Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to discuss the situation arising out of spread of the viral disease.
The meeting, also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal, discussed the measures to contain the further spread of the disease.
Azad further said three companies were working to develop a swine flu vaccine in the country. “WHO has provided virus seed to several countries including India. If another other country develops the vaccine before us, we will adopt it,” he said.
According to a statement issued by the Health Ministry, about 4,084 people have been tested so far, of whom 864 are positive for the Influenza A(H1N1). It said that 523 of them have been discharged.
Authorities in Maharashtra and Gujarat – which account for the five deaths – are on high alert.
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Swine Flu: PM intervenes; asks Azad to form docs panelAs Pune has become the epidemic city, a central team has been stationed there to assess the situation and institute appropriate public health measures.
Pune is in the grip of panic as thousands besieged government hospitals to get themselves checked, almost all of them with their faces masked.
Thane has also reported its first swine flu case with a six-year-old girl from the district been admitted to a suburban hospital in Mumbai after she tested positive for the virus.
In New Delhi, the privately run Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri and Delhi Public School in East of Kailash closed down Sunday for a week after three students tested positive for swine flu, including one who recently visited Britain.
Another school, the Junior Modern School on Humayun Road decided to shut down from today for a week after two of its Class III students tested positive for swine flu.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit yesterday said that the government will issue an advisory to all schools to take precautionary measures but will not issue any instruction to close schools.
In Chandigarh, 17 members of a family, who came in contact with an Influenza A(H1N1) infected patient, have been quarantined in their Sector 9 home, an official said.
According to health officials, some of the members of the family had gone to Delhi to meet their relatives August 5, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. One of their relatives who had come from London was tested positive for swine flu.
So far, nearly 50 suspected cases of swine flu have been reported in this Union Territory. Seven of them tested positive.
In Bangalore, a private school has closed its primary wing for a week as a precautionary measure following the swine flu scare in the country.
Karnataka has so far recorded about 85 confirmed cases of swine flu.
Zeenews Bureau
Pune/Chennai: The death toll from Influenza A(H1N1) or swine flu rose to six on Monday with the death of a 35-year-old ayurvedic doctor and a four-year-old boy in Pune and Chennai, respectively.
The medic, Babasahib Mane, died in the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune this morning, becoming the third person in the worst-hit Maharashtra city to succumb to swine flu, a senior health official said.
Mane was ailing for sometime and blood had been found in his sputum in the last couple of days, he said.
In Chennai, a four-year-old boy, who was admitted to a private hospital with kidney and liver-related complications and had tested positive for swine flu, died this morning, health officials said. The boy had also been suffering from asthma. This is the first case of flu death in the city.
“The boy was in a very critical condition. He had been suffering from asthma and he had been taken from one hospital to another for various complications. Ultimately he landed up in this hospital for a kidney-related problem… and they found the boy testing positive (for swine flu),” Tamil Nadu Health Secretary VK Subburaj said.
The boy, who was on a ventilator, died following “multi-organ failure,” S Ilango, Director of Public Health, said.
Pune had reported India’s first swine flu death on August 03 with 14-year-old Reeda Sheikh succumbing to the disease.
On Saturday, 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai and 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Tukaram Kokre from Pune had died of swine flu. Pravin Patel, a 43-year-old NRI, died in Ahmedabad yesterday.
A total of 82 fresh cases were reported from across the country yesterday, taking the total number of positive cases to 864.
Govt in huddle
With the number of cases rising rapidly, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stepped in and reviewed the situation with Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad yesterday.
Singh asked Azad to ensure that his ministry co-ordinates with state governments on efforts to contain the spread of the infection and set up a panel of experts to correctly disseminate information on A(H1N1) virus.
Azad has asked people having flu symptoms to take precautions and stay away from public places till their status of infection was clear.
The minister today also met Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to discuss the situation arising out of spread of the viral disease.
The meeting, also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal, discussed the measures to contain the further spread of the disease.
Azad further said three companies were working to develop a swine flu vaccine in the country. “WHO has provided virus seed to several countries including India. If another other country develops the vaccine before us, we will adopt it,” he said.
According to a statement issued by the Health Ministry, about 4,084 people have been tested so far, of whom 864 are positive for the Influenza A(H1N1). It said that 523 of them have been discharged.
Authorities in Maharashtra and Gujarat – which account for the five deaths – are on high alert.
Related Stories
Hospital disinfectant effective against swine flu virus
Azad, Cabinet Secy discuss swine flu crisis
Delhi school closes after students test positive for swine flu
Homeopathy can cure swine flu, claims practitioner
Pune doc, Chennai boy succumb to swine flu; toll rises to six
Swine Flu: PM intervenes; asks Azad to form docs panelAs Pune has become the epidemic city, a central team has been stationed there to assess the situation and institute appropriate public health measures.
Pune is in the grip of panic as thousands besieged government hospitals to get themselves checked, almost all of them with their faces masked.
Thane has also reported its first swine flu case with a six-year-old girl from the district been admitted to a suburban hospital in Mumbai after she tested positive for the virus.
In New Delhi, the privately run Sanskriti School in Chanakyapuri and Delhi Public School in East of Kailash closed down Sunday for a week after three students tested positive for swine flu, including one who recently visited Britain.
Another school, the Junior Modern School on Humayun Road decided to shut down from today for a week after two of its Class III students tested positive for swine flu.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit yesterday said that the government will issue an advisory to all schools to take precautionary measures but will not issue any instruction to close schools.
In Chandigarh, 17 members of a family, who came in contact with an Influenza A(H1N1) infected patient, have been quarantined in their Sector 9 home, an official said.
According to health officials, some of the members of the family had gone to Delhi to meet their relatives August 5, on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. One of their relatives who had come from London was tested positive for swine flu.
So far, nearly 50 suspected cases of swine flu have been reported in this Union Territory. Seven of them tested positive.
In Bangalore, a private school has closed its primary wing for a week as a precautionary measure following the swine flu scare in the country.
Karnataka has so far recorded about 85 confirmed cases of swine flu.
–Agencies