Assam reports first swine flu death this year

A 75-year-old shopkeeper died of H1N1 infection in Assam, a day after he was rushed to a private hospital here on Tuesday.

The man, identified as Bhagawan Prasad, a resident of Tamulpur in Baksa district in western Assam, was first admitted in a hospital in Rangiya in Kamrup district. He was later rushed to Narayana Superspeciality hospital at Amingaon after he developed altered sensorium. Sources said he was admitted with fever, unresponsiveness and breathing difficulty.

"The patient had a history of pulmonary Koch's infection and bronchial asthma, and was admitted on Tuesday with a history of fever for three days. On evaluation, he was found to have a septic shock with left ventricular failure. He was admitted in the ICU. He was kept in an isolation room with inotropic support and poor prognosis was explained to the patient family. But at 4.45 am on Wednesday, he developed cardiac arrest and could not be revived despite efforts as per protocols. He expired at 5 am," said the medical report of the private hospital.

Test conducted in the laboratory of microbiology department of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on Thursday confirmed his H1N1 infection.

The report, however, confused his family. "We still can't understand how he got infected. He did not go out of Tamulpur. We took him to Rangiya first as he was not recovering from fever but was referred for better treatment. We admitted him in Narayana Superspeciality hospital where he died. Doctors there told us that he got infected with H1N1 virus," the victim's son, Ganesh Prasad told DH on Saturday.

Swine flu or H1N1 virus spreads from one person to another, either by air or after touching surfaces contaminated with the virus, or touching the mouth or nose of an infected person.