Ahmedabad registers highest swine flu deaths after Kutch

Swine flu has claimed 31 lives in Gujarat since the beginning of 2013, of which six are in Ahmedabad alone. The change in weather is being primarily blamed for the spurt in cases this year. While Rajkot district leads with 49 cases reported so far, Kutch with seven victims has recorded the highest number of deaths. Ahmedabad comes second, both in terms of number of cases and deaths. The district has seen 19 cases and six deaths so far.

According to Dr Dinkar Raval of the department of health (epidemic), the state has seen 132 cases this year. Stating that 32 patients have been discharged and 69 are under treatment, Dr Raval said that 31 patients have succumbed to the illness. No case of swine flu has been reported from 13 districts of the state, he added.

On what measures the government was taking, Dr Raval said that apart from the usual steps, efforts were being made to disseminate information about the disease.

“Efforts are also being made to make the children aware of the disease through the school health profile.”

Among those who tested positive for swine flu, most were in the 15 to 35 age group, Dr Raval said.

“Death due to swine flu is most likely to happen if the patient has been diagnosed at a very late stage or has some other illness, is on immuno suppression drugs or such factors. Otherwise, if detected early, the patients, particularly the young healthy patients, recover from it,” he added.

Health minister Nitin Patel had also stressed on the need to update medical practitioners about the disease. Winter is usually the favourable season for the disease, but in Gujarat, it has managed to survive even during the summer.

Efforts are also being made to make the children aware of the disease through the school health profile"
— Dr Dinkar Raval,department of health (epidemic)