2 more deaths take Mumbai swine flu tally to 14
POSTED September 7, 2009 - 09:57 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on September 7, 2009 - 11:51
The health authorities in Mumbai assert that only one death can be attributed to the influenza. One of the two victims, Urvashi Singh, a woman from Mira Road, reported negative for the virus when she was tested subsequently and hence should not be considered as a flu fatality, claims the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The latest fatalities
The other victim, identified as 34-year-old A Francisca, succumbed to the virus even though she had completed the Tamiflu course.
The woman had developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and had been admitted to the Holy Spirit Hospital at Andheri East. She had remained on the ventilator for almost her entire hospital stay since Aug. 9.
Civic executive health officer Jairaj Thanekar said, "She (Francisca) did not have any history of other medical complications, but might have come to the hospital in a critical state.”
Meanwhile, Urvashi Singh died at the Bombay Hospital on Saturday. On Aug. 17, she had delivered a still-born baby at the Kasturba Hospital. Thereafter she was shifted to the Bombay Hospital.
Her second round of tests revealed a negative result. "So, hers is not a death due to swine flu,'' Thanekar said.
97 percent recovery rate in Mumbai
The rate of recovery of swine flu patients has been fairly decent in Mumbai with close to 97 percent of the patients having been treated and discharged since the outbreak of the swine flu in the city in June.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar said of the situation in Mumbai, “Of the 826 patients who tested positive for the H1N1, 800 persons have recovered and are fine now.”
“Those who came within 24 to 36 hours of the symptoms got immediate treatment and have shown results than those admitted after 72 hours,” he added.
According to the health authorities, seven patients are critical in Mumbai at present. Out of these, four patients have been admitted in civic-run Nair hospital while the other three are undergoing treatment at the Hinduja hospital.
In a separate analysis, the BMC found that of all the Mumbai swine flu victims, 60 percent were males. Of these, 76 percent were from within the BMC limits, while the rest were from within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
A mere 11.13 percent of the total infected persons had a travel history to other affected countries or Pune, the epicenter of the current swine flu pandemic.
