H1N1 claims 5 in one day, toll touches 40

With three children, a teenager and a middle-aged man succumbing to the flu in a single day, the city’s toll has now touched 40.

Joint director of state health service Dr Ashok Mehta said, “The senior KG student, Vidya Bajirao Vatore (5), a resident of Kuruli-Bhosari, breathed her last at 7.30 am.

“Within four hours, Om Pravin Kurhe (6), the standard I student of the ZP primary school in Savargaon village of Junnar taluka, died at 10.40 am. Seema Ravi Shirsat (3) of Khudewadi-Chandannagar died at 1.30 pm. All of them had been admitted to the Sassoon hospital.”

The other two, Amar Khalkonikar (17) and Prakash Chavan (48), died in Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Munot Hospital respectively.

Details on the five casualties
The first victim was Vidya Vatore whose demise was due to a delay in diagnosis. Dr Mehta stated that the little girl suffering from fever and cough was initially admitted to Dr Mankikar Hospital on Sept. 2. Later she was shifted to Oyster and Pearl Hospital.

As her condition deteriorated she was admitted to Sassoon Hospital on Sept. 8. She was kept on ventilator and her throat swap showed symptoms of swine flu infection. She was immediately administered Tamiflu, but her condition was too bad. The child succumbed to the virus on Thursday.

Om Pravin Kure, the second fatality, was a resident of Junner Taluka in Pune district. The child had underlying health problems and was treated by a local pediatrician for pneumonia.

He was later referred to Naidu hospital on Sept. 7 where he was treated with Tamiflu. His condition worsened, and he was shifted to Sassoon Hospital on Sept. 8. He was put on ventilator yesterday but showed no progress and died at 1100 hrs.
In both the above cases, the private doctors failed to detect H1N1 symptoms, leading to the untimely death of the children.

Seema Ravi Sirsat of Khudewadi, Chandannagar was the third victim of the virus. She was admitted to Sassoon Hospital on Sept. 9 with acute cough and fever. She, too, had tested positive for swine flu and expired at 1.30 p.m.

Amar Khalkonikar was admitted to Jehangir Hospital on Thursday morning as H1N1 positive and died due to the ailment at 2.30 p.m. Dr Dhananjay Chandokkar, deputy health officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, disclosed that Amar was suffering from muscular dystrophy for the past four years and was confined to bed.

Prakash Chavan from Balajinagar was admitted to the Sahyadri Munot hospital in critical condition on Sept. 9 and died at 12.30 p.m. Thursday. Besides testing positive for H1N1, he was also HIV positive, disclosed Dr Uddhav Gawhande, deputy director, Pune region.

Update on H1N1 in Pune
Meanwhile, a class XI student of Abasaheb Garware College of Commerce has tested positive for the virus and is undergoing treatment at Naidu Hospital.

In addition, a 22-year-old student from Agriculture College has also been admitted to Sassoon Hospital as a suspected case of H1N1.

On Wednesday, 6,984 people were screened, which include 218 suspected cases. The positive cases on Wednesday were 11. The total positive cases are 945, with 12 critical and 5 on ventilators.

The virus is rampant among the youngsters. In the 40 fatalities reported so far, nine are kids below 14 years, four between the ages of 0-5 years, and five deaths occurred in age group of 5-14 years.