A 30-year-old woman from Bhandup, who was seven months pregnant, has become the third person to succumb to the deadly swine flu virus in the city. Originally from Allahabad, the woman came to the city only a month ago.
An asthma patient, she had a history of high-grade fever, chest pain and vomiting for the past few days. The woman was first admitted to the Savitribhai Phule Maternity Home in Bhandup on May 13 and was later referred to the Sion hospital. Her samples were sent to the lab in Kasturba hospital and the reports came on the May 16. Unfortunately, her body went into a septic shock the same day leading to her death.
BMC health officials surveyed the area around her home and found three people with influenza-like symptoms. Close to 525 homes were visited and a population of 2,026 was covered during the survey. The area has been kept under surveillance, confirmed Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer, BMC.
Maharashtra has recorded 210 swine flu deaths so far and there are 1,058 cases in the state. While a majority have been discharged, 96 patients are still in hospitals of which eight are on ventilator support.
Doctors point out that the presentation of H1N1 is changing and there is a need to pay attention to it. "Don't wait for your lungs to get affected but get a throat swab done if you see symptoms which you don't understand," said Dr Om Srivastava, infectious disease expert.
"There are symptoms like loose motions, vomiting, backaches and lethargy that could be connected to swine flu," he explained. In all three deaths so far there has been a considerable delay in diagnosis. It also points out to the need for doctors to be more alert.
...and analysis
The cases of swine flu are spread across the city but doctors say the presentation of the disease is changing. So far, all the casualties are from high-risk groups doctors had warned about — children, elderly and pregnant women — making it important to pay close attention to them.
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