Aurangabad, August 15: Three persons, suspected to be suffering from swine flu, died in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, health officials said Saturday.
The causalities were reported from Latur and Jalna districts of Marathwada region.
If the reports of the three test positive for H1N1 virus, the nationwide toll due to swine flu will reach 26.
Yesterday, Pune District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi had told reporters that of the 15 deaths reported so far from the city, only 12 were due to the virus as the three patients who had died of suspected flu, have tested negative.
Sudam Manik Kale (40), a resident of Ashti village in Jalna district died yesterday at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad, where he was admitted a day before following complaints of cold and fever.
Kale was suffering from pneumonia, Civil Surgeon Dr P S Gavali said. His swab samples have been sent to NIV, Pune for tests and the results were awaited, he said.
Another 30-year-old man, Sharad Nanasaheb Gaikwad, from Ambad tehsil in Jalna, died on his way to the Aurangabad hospital on Thursday evening, hospital sources said.
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A two-year-old boy, Arjun Srinivas Wagmare, who was suffering with the flu symptoms, died in Nilanga tehsil of Hadga village in Latur district after he was admitted to a hospital here on Wednesday.
Tehsil medical officer Dr Vijaykumar Nimbalkar, said, “It is not yet confirmed that the boy died of swine flu. He was suffering from a brain disease and also showed symptoms of the viral infection.”
Besides the 12 deaths in Pune, one person each has died due to viral infection in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai, Raipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Bilaspur and Nashik and two each in Bangalore and Mumbai.
As 117 flu cases were reported across the country yesterday, one of the highest numbers on a single day, Union Minister of Health Ghulam Nabi Azad held a four-hour meeting in Delhi with private healthcare centres and decided to issue fresh set of strict guidelines for dealing with the disease to calm the fears among the people.
Also, the total number of screening centres in Pune have been increased to 64 in wake of the maximum number of deaths here.
Screening centres would also open at 24 rural hospitals and 96 primary health centres so that patients with minor symptoms could be treated, the district Collector said.
–Agencies