The victim's name and other details were not divulged by the authorities to protect patient confidentiality.
Simon Tanner, regional director of public health for London, said, “It is with sadness that we have to announce the death of a patient in London who has subsequently tested positive for H1N1 swine flu.”
Underlying medical conditions
All the four fatalities due to the swine flu in Britain had underlying health problems, which highlights the fact that this category of people is more susceptible to the influenza.
Tanner cautioned, “If you have flu-like symptoms it is important that you talk to your doctor, if you are pregnant, very young, over 65 or have long-term conditions, such as asthma or diabetes.”
There are 7,447 confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK till date. Health Secretary Andy Burnham has warned that there could be as many as 100,000 new cases a day in Britain by the end of next month.
The health authorities urged people not to resort to self-medication and refrain from buying counterfeit antiviral drugs online.
No death in India
While London has been termed as a "swine flu hot spot", India continues to remain in safe waters so far as the pandemic outbreak is concerned.
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said in the Parliament on Friday that not a single swine flu death had been reported in India till date.
"There have been 109 cases so far of which 70 have already gone back (from the hospital). Fortunately, no deaths have taken place in India," Azad said in the Upper House of the parliament.
Out of the total 109 victims, 100 persons had come to India from abroad with 70 percent of them returning from the United States. Thus a greater part of the swine flu infection was contracted on visits to the affected nations.
The minister played down the prevalence of the influenza in the country stating that the virus was virtually “non-existent” here vis-à-vis other countries.
Post new comment