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ShareMumbai: After almost a month-and-a-half and a dip in temperatures, Mumbai recorded its first swine flu death on Friday.
But health authorities and experts say the death of a 57-year-old Mira road resident is no indicator of a second wave.
In November, of the 2,016 people screened, 31 tested positive. Two among them were from Mumbai, 14 from the extended suburbs, and 15 were from outside Maharashtra. "This can mean that Mumbaikars have developed an immunity because of the large-scale distribution of Tamiflu over the past few months," executive health officer Dr Jayaraj Thanekar said. This death takes the H1N1 toll in Mumbai to 31.
Talking about the death, he said Rehana Mohammad Ismile Sheikh of Mira Road was on a ventilator for the past six days. She was admitted to the Life Care Hospital on November 11 with mild fever and cough. "She had fever and cold for the past 15 days," Thanekar said. She was transferred to Nair Hospital on November 14 after her condition deteriorated. The hospital has an ICU with 10 beds exclusively for H1N1 patients.
Thanekar said Rehana was put on a ventilator immediately after admission. "Her throat swab was sent to the Haffkine Research Institute in Parel," he said. "Her reports were positive." But she was not given Tamiflu during her four-day stay at the private hospital at Mira road. "Also, she was obese and suffering from breathlessness. The death could not be only because of H1N1," Thanekar said.
Health officials have, however, made it clear that it is a one-off case. "There were days when we had 30 patients on ventilators. Today we have just three," additional chief secretary Sharvaree Gokhale said. "Stray cases of H1N1 will keep happening because the infection has spread globally."
She insisted that it was not an indicator of a second wave of infection. She said that there were only three patients on ventilators across the state, including Mumbai, on Friday.
Haffkine Research Institute director Dr Abhay Chaudhary said though the temperature has dipped slightly, the atmosphere is not conducive for the virus to multiply rapidly. "We get about eight to 10 and sometimes even 20 cases daily. But fewer than 1% test positive for H1N1," he said. "The second wave is a speculation and we are still to see anything."
