Chennai: The state health department is struggling with rising H1N1 influenza cases with over 600 people testing positive and a total of 15 deaths across the state. Meanwhile, the number of dengue cases seems to be declining.
On Saturday alone, four people died in Coimbatore owing to swine flu, dengue and viral fever. Vasantha, 62 and Ganesan, 57 from Tirupur, were admitted to the government hospital in Coimbatore and died without responding to treatment for swine flu, sources in the hospital said. Amuthan, a five-year-old boy from the city, who was hospitalised with high temperature and diagnosed with dengue, succu-mbed to the fever, the sources said. Thirty-five-year-old Sunitha from Coonoor in Nilgiris district died of a mysterious fever, they said. According to sources, 11 people were currently being treated for swine flu, four for dengue and 52 for mysterious fever at the Coimbatore GH.
The swine flu outbreak in Tirunelveli district saw a total of 30 patients admitted at Tirunelveli medical college hospital. In the first three days of November itself, seven patients with swine flu symptoms have been admitted of whom three-Gomathi, Selvam and Muthukrishnan died and four others are undergoing treatment.
Chithra and Muthulakshmi were being treated at the Madurai for viral fever. They too succumbed to it, doctors said, as they were unresponsive to treatment.
In Krishnagiri district, pregnant Ramayee suddenly fainted on Saturday morning. She had been suffering from fever for the last few days, family members said. Doctors who checked her declared her brought dead.
There is no reason to panic, director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine K. Kolandaswamy said. "Most deaths have been among people with additional complications such as heart disease, or kidney failure," said Kolandaswamy. The department has asked hospitals to ensure that there is no cross-infection within the hospital itself.
The state has also advised all healthcare workers to protect themselves and use N95 face masks while tending to patients. Health secretary J. Radhakrishnan said the state had adequate stock of protective gear and medicines for all viral diseases. School and educational institutions have been advised to ask students with fever and symptoms of flu to skip school until the fever has subsided.
