12 Aug ; Swine flu pandemic toll rose to 17 on Wednesday with five more persons – four in Pune and one in Nashik succumbing to the virus even as schools, colleges and cinema halls in Mumbai were shut down to check the spread of the infection.
A 48-year-old man succumbed to the deadly H1N1 flu in the government-run Sassoon Hospital in Pune on Wednesday, to become the 10th victim in the city and 17th in the country.Gautam Shelar, a driver by profession, who was kept in the isolation ward of the Hospital, was on ventilator since last Monday. He died at 1605 hrs.
He was earlier admitted to a private hospital after he suffered fever and cough, district collector Chandrankant Dalvi told reporters in Pune.Earlier, 50-year-old woman Nita Meghane, a resident of posh Kalyani Nagar was undergoing medical treatment in the hospital since last five days, and succumbed to the contagious virus at 1530 hrs.
She was brought to the Sassoon Hospital on Tuesday and her blood sample was sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), which tested positive for H1N1 on Wednesday. She was on ventilator since Thursday.
Talking a news agency, Medical Supertintendent of Sassoon Hospital Dr P S Pawar confirmed the death of 10th victim, saying ”our doctors tried to give all possible treatment but could not save their lives.
Ten people have fallen victims so far to the dreaded H1N1 virus since the first death of 14-year-old girl Reeda Shaikh on 3rd August.So far, the flu has claimed a total of 17 lives – one each in Ahmedabad, Vadodra, Thane, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram, two in Mumbai and ten in Pune.
With the infection spreading fast, the Maharashtra government ordered closure of schools and colleges in Mumbai for a week and theatres and multiplexes for three days.The decision was taken as part of precautionary measures to check the infection, a senior state government official said.
Swine flu cases countrywide have crossed the 1,000 mark with 119 fresh cases being reported till Tuesday.In Delhi, two children of Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf have tested positive for swine flu and have been quarantined at home.
Three other patients with swine flu symptoms have been admitted to the RML hospital in the capital.With spiralling cases of swine flu countrywide, central teams have been despatched to all states and Union Territories after Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad chaired a meeting of 35 additional secretaries and joint secretaries drawn from various ministries.
He briefed the teams personally on Tuesday before they were dispatched to the state capitals.While 14 additional secretaries would go to the big states, the joint secretaries would got to other states and Union Territories. The teams would stay there for two-three days and would return by 15th August.
Azad also spoke to all Chief Ministers and told them to step up preparedness.The health minister requested the Chief Ministers to chair the first meeting of these teams so that on-the-spot decisions are taken for swift implementation, a senior health ministry official said.
The Central teams will discuss with state governments new guidelines issued by the ministry of health and family welfare with record to capacity building issues such as identification of labs for testing and hospitals in private and public sectors for screening, diagnosis and treatment of swine flu patients.