35-year-old man is Mumbai’s 4th H1N1 death

Eight swine flu deaths were reported across the country on Thursday, the highest in a day so far, taking the national toll to 39.

While a 35-year-old man died in Mumbai, Bangalore reported three deaths — a woman succumbed to the outbreak and test results of another two, who had died earlier, confirmed H1N1 infection.

A woman and a man died in Delhi, becoming the capital’s first swine flu fatalities. Pune reported two deaths — that of a 27-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man.

Dattatray Gawde, 35, a resident of Ghatkopar, died at Kasturba Hospital of acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by H1N1 infection.

His family, however, blamed the “callous attitude” of doctors at Rajawadi Hospital for his death. The allegation comes just three days after a pregnant woman from Mira Road was given a run-around by two civic hospitals. She later delivered a stillborn child.
Gawde had visited the screening centre at Rajawadi a week ago but doctors refused to take his throat swab though he had “breathing problems, fever and cough”, said one of his relatives.   

“More importantly, he had travelled to Pune about two weeks back,” the relative said, adding that the doctors didn’t find it necessary to put him on Tamiflu.

Around 8am on Tuesday, Gawde, a flower vendor, was rushed to Ghatkopar’s Satyam Nursing Home, but was referred to Kasturba Hospital within an hour as he had “classic symptoms of swine flu”, said Dr G Surendra, consulting physician and owner of the hospital.

Gawde, who is survived by three daughters, was admitted to the isolation ward of Kasturba Hospital and “immediately put on ventilator”, said additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar. “We sent his throat swabs to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and the confirmation came by Wednesday,” she said, adding that he was put on Tamiflu even before his reports had arrived.

Mhaiskar said it is possible that Gawde may not have developed flu symptoms when he first visited Rajawadi. “We have to check with the hospital for more details,” she said.
In between, Gawde had also consulted a general physician, who treated him for normal fever.

The family took Gawde’s body to Khed, Raigad, for the last rites.

Pune, meanwhile, saw it 16th H1N1 death with Dipti Pawar, 27, succumbing to the infection at the state-run Sassoon hospital.

In Bangalore, Rathna Manjunath, 36, became the city’s 10th H1N1 fatality - she died of acute respiratory distress syndrome at Baptist hospital on Thursday morning.

The reports of two other women from the city, Krishnaveni (45) and N Prema (23), who had died in Columbia Asia Referral Hospital on August 17, also confirmed H1N1 infection.

Delhi’s first H1N1 fatalities were Samrat Pandeya (31) and Renu Gupta (38). While Gupta died on Wednesday night, Pandeya died on Thursday morning at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.