JOIN USTwo suspected swine flu deaths, 26 fresh cases
Two people are suspected to have succumbed to swine flu virus in the Capital on Friday. Officials said the two cases will be reviewed and the final reports are awaited.
Also, 26 fresh cases of swine flu were reported on Friday. “Twenty-six cases of swine flu were reported. This is out of the 89 samples tested. Two deaths are currently being reviewed. It is not confirmed yet if the deaths were due to swine flu. The reports will be available on Tuesday,” said Dr R N Das, one of the members of the committee formed by the health department to look into the deaths caused due to the H1N1 virus this season.
A five-member committee will review the cases. The samples have been sent to National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC) and the reports are due. One of the victims who died, was admitted at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the other at Safdarjung.
“A 53-year-old woman died at Safdarjung Hospital and another 50-year-old woman died at RML Hospital. Every sample needs to be sent to the NCDC for confirmation. A lot of other factors have to be checked like what was the comorbodity condition of the patients,” said Dr Das. Comorbidity is a condition in which there is more than one disorder in a patient.
Earlier, four people had succumbed to the H1N1 virus in the city. However, after the review committee comprising officials from the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) looked into the deaths, one sample was found to have tested negative. The death toll is three in the Capital according to figures available with the DHS. The total number of swine flu cases now have gone up over 200.
At RML cases, 18 cases have tested positive so far. “We are admitting patients who are serious. Of those admitted, three are critical,” said Dr H K Kar, Medical Superintendent, RML Hospital.
Currently, swine flu samples can be tested at 10 hospitals. The health department is in the process of adding two more private laboratories to the list.Health officials maintained that there is no need to panic.