Chennai boy, Pune doctor die of H1N1

The boy, B Sanjay, who was admitted to a private hospital with kidney and liver-related complications and had tested positive for swine flu, died this morning, health officials said in Chennai.

The boy had also been suffering from asthma. This is the first case of flu-related death in Tamil Nadu.

"The boy was in a very critical condition. He had been suffering from asthma and he had been taken from one hospital to another for various complications. Ultimately he landed up in this hospital for a kidney-related problem...and they found the boy testing positive (for swine flu)," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary V K Subburaj said.

The boy, who was on a ventilator, died following "multi- organ failure," S Ilango, Director of Public Health, said.

In Pune, the medic, Babasahib Mane, died in the Sassoon Hospital this morning, becoming the third person in the worst-hit Maharashtra city to succumb to swine flu, a senior health official said.

Mane was ailing for sometime and blood had been found in his sputum in the last couple of days, he said.

With the two deaths today, the swine flu toll in the country has climbed to six.

With deaths due to swine flu on the rise, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad discussed with Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar the situation arising out of spread of the viral disease and measures to contain it.

The meeting in New Delhi was also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had yesterday asked the Health Ministry to co-ordinate with state governments efforts to contain further spread of the disease.

Singh had also asked Azad to take steps to remove misinformation and educate people about the viral flu.

According to PMO sources, the Prime Minister had told Azad to set up a panel of experts and doctors to spread correct information about the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.

Azad yesterday advised state governments to set up separate OPD sections and wards in hospitals to screen and treat patients suffering from the viral disease.