35-year-old dies of swine flu

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 18

A 35-year-old native of Khuda Lahora died of swine flu at the PGI here today. The deceased, who used to work in Haryana, was admitted to the PGI on Saturday in a critical state. This is the city’s first death due to swine flu in this season.

“We are monitoring the suspected cases on a day-to-day basis,” said the UT Director, Health Services (DHS), Dr VK Gagneja.

Two patients, who were admitted to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, on Saturday, were discharged today, after their reports were found to be negative for swine flu.

On Saturday, a doctor from the Department of Internal Medicine, PGI, had tested positive for swine flu. He was quarantined at his residence.

Earlier, a case of swine flu was reported from Sector 40 in the city. The woman, aged 20, was quarantined at her residence. Last year, three cases of swine flu were reported from various parts of the city. However, no deaths were reported from the city. Swine flu is an infection caused due to transmission of the deadly H1N1 virus. Prolonged flu, blood in sputum and fever are the common symptoms of the disease and it can prove to be fatal if undiagnosed for long.

Washing your hands often is an effective way of preventing the infection. The disease is curable. Tamiflu, an oral medicine, cures swine flu. The medicine is available at all three government hospitals — the PGI, the GMSH-16 and the GMCH-32 — free of cost. Private clinics and hospitals can get the medicine from the UT Health Department. Qurantining is a process in which a patient is restricted either to his or her residence or an isolated ward in a hospital for a period of at least seven days and administered tamiflu regularly.