Two more fall prey to H1N1 in Pune
POSTED August 21, 2009 - 10:48 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Priya Markanda on August 21, 2009 - 12:50
Rather, a mood of despondency has engulfed the vivacious town of Pune with the belief that the situation is fast spiraling out of control.
The two victims from Pune
The first casualty reported was Dipti Pawar 27, residing on Senapati Bapat road. After hospitalization on August 16, with severe shortness of breath she tested positive for H1N1. Pawar exhibited acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and met her tragic end at 4.45 pm Thursday.
The second fatality was Vikram Sharma (25), a resident of Kondhwa. Sharma too demonstrated signs of ARDS on admission to Sassoon hospital on August 9. He too tested positive for the viral and met his untimely end at 11.15 pm yesterday.
Talking about Sharma, the Sassoon medical superintendent Pandurang Pawar stated, "He had also shown a reaction to both Tamiflu as well as other anti-virals given to him."
Update of swine flu in Pune
In addition, seven other patients are reported to be in critical condition in the ICU at the Sassoon hospital. All have tested positive for the H1N1 virus and two of them are on the ventilator.
Besides these, three patients are on the ventilator at the Sahyadri Munot hospital. However, a two-year-old, in a rather critical condition at Sassoon, has tested negative for swine flu, disclosed a hospital official.
Giving some perspective into the current scenario, the district collector Chandrakant Dalvi said that sixteen people tested positive Thursday, taking the total number of cases to 632.
He further added, "As many as 54 patients were discharged from different hospitals on Thursday. Over 10,000 people have been given Tamiflu so far."
Imparting some positive imputs, Dalvi stated that there was a sharp drop in the number of suspected cases and visitors to screening centres across the district. According to official records, around 9,297 people visited screening centres Thursday.
Regarding treatment procedure at private hospitals, Dalvi explained that patients will not have to pay for the swab tests or Tamiflu tablets.
"However, screening charges and further treatment, if required, including ICU charges and other services given by these hospitals will have to be borne by the patient," he added.
Situation elsewhere in the nation
The spread of the flu continues unabated, with the nation reporting ten deaths, the highest number of people falling prey to the deadly flu in a single day.
The fatalities in the country touched 45 with four deaths being reported from Bangalore, two from Gujarat and one each from the Delhi and Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the number of swine flu cases soared to 2,242 with 216 people testing positive for the virus Wednesday. Mumbai (48) and Pune (36) led the list, followed closely by Chennai (30) and Delhi (25).
