Punjab's first H1N1 fatality takes toll to 303
POSTED September 29, 2009 - 12:54 | POSTED BY Neharika Sabharwal
Last edited by Harpreet Bhagrath on September 29, 2009 - 15:02
Now Punjab has reported the first death from the virus; that of a 12-year-old schoolgirl, Harshita, a hosteller of the reputed Chaman Vatika School in Ambala.
She had been admitted at Chaitanya Hospital in Sector 44 Chandigarh on Friday in a critical condition with respiratory failure and immediately put on ventilator and Tamiflu treatment.
Her condition worsened and she was declared brain dead on Sunday night. However, the girl succumbed to the disease at 10.30 a.m. on Monday.
Vivek Walia, a senior consultant at hospital’s department of pediatrics, stated, “Harshita was in a very bad shape when her parents rushed her here on Friday. She was suffering from respiratory failure and was diagnosed for swine flu. The patient died due to multiple organ failure.”
Since five more students from the school have tested positive for the virus, so as a precautionary measure, the institute has closed down till Diwali. Also, Harshita’s roommates and teachers have been put on Tamiflu treatment.
New cases detected across the country
Out of the 177 fresh confirmed cases that surfaced from across the country, 68 were in Delhi, 47 in Maharashtra, 16 in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Haryana, 11 in Kerala, and seven cases in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu each.
With these, the total number of confirmed infected cases of the virus reported so far in India has risen to 9,871.
In addition, unconfirmed new cases were also reported from Andhra Pradesh (16), Kerela (11), Haryana (13), Uttarakhand (3), Jammu and Kashmir (1), and Uttar Pradesh (4).
H1N1 related fatalities state wise
Most of the deaths from the virus have occurred in Maharashtra with 118 falling prey to the disease. Karnataka is close with 92 succumbing to the contagious disease in the state.
Elsewhere in the country, 32 lost their lives in Andhra Pradesh, 31 in Gujarat, 10 in Delhi, 4 each in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, 3 in Goa, 2 each in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and 1 each in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.
Global status of H1N1 flu
According to the World Health Organization, the H1N1 flu strain, a mixture of swine, bird and human viruses that spreads easily between people, has killed nearly 4,000 people and infected more than 318,925 across the globe.
