Delay led to death of youth

Manjunath, who  died at 3 am on Tuesday at Victoria Hospital, had been shifted late on Monday evening from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), as the sole ventilator at the institute was being used on another critical patient. Doctors had initially suspected that Manjunath had contracted H1N1.

Doctors at RGICD said that Manjunath had registered in their outpatient ward at 9.41 am on Monday, and was examined at about 10 am. A throat swab sample was collected, and he was subsequently referred to the ICU at Victoria Hospital. Currently, the institute is referring all emergency cases to either Victoria Hospital or Lady Curzon and Bowring Hospital.

After the referral, Manjunath was reportedly taken to a number of hospitals in the City, in search of a ventilator. Further, according to hospital authorities, there could well have been a mix-up at the RGICD due to the admission of two patients by the same name.

RGICD director Dr Shashidhar Buggi said, “We get nearly 600 people for screening everyday. However, in this case, we are trying to find more details, because there were two people with the same name, who came for H1N1 screening on Monday.”

Dr BG Tilak, Medical Superintendent of Victoria Hospital said, “The patient was referred from RGICD on Monday and was in a very bad state, when he arrived at our Hospital.”
He added that Manjunath’s throat swab samples were collected by the RGICD on Monday, and he  was immediately administered Tamiflu.

Manjunath, a resident of Electronic City had been admitted at Victoria Hospital at 8.30 pm on Monday evening. He died within seven hours of his arrival. Doctors put the eventual cause of death down to respiratory arrest. Manjunath did not have any pre-existing illnesses.

Udupi now has 15 cases
The number of cases testing positive for A(H1N1) Influenza rose to 15  in Udupi Two new suspected cases were reported on Tuesday. DHO Dr Ramachandra Bayari said four of the suspected five cases on Monday tested negative. One case has been confirmed. Seven patients who were suffering from H1N1 have been discharged from hospital, he said.  

Chitradurga: 2 suspected cases
Seven suspected cases of H1N1 have been reported in Chitradurga district. Four of these  have been reported from Chitradurga city, two from Hiriyur, and one from Holalkere. “The patients, who had been suffering from fever, voluntarily came to hospital for testing. Their throat swab samples have been sent to Nimhans, and the report is awaited. These patients are being treated in quarantine. There is no cause for panic,” District Medical Officer  Venkatashiva Reddy has said.