In Kashmir, four die of swine flu

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 11

Four people have died of swine flu in the Valley in the last 24 hours and one is stated to be critical, but the doctors said the patients had comorbidity and there was nothing alarming as of now about the spread of the disease in the region.

Medical Superintendent of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS) said so far, 120 patients had been tested positive with the virus at the hospital since September last year.

“In the last 24 hours, two patients died here. They were old and not in a normal condition. They were having comorbidity, which means they had additional diseases or disorders co-occurring with the primary disease like a cardiac problem,” the doctor said, adding that there was no need to panic as the hospital was well-equipped to deal with the problem.

A senior doctor at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital said two patients died of swine flu in the last 24 hours. The doctors said another swine flu patient admitted to the hospital was in a critical state.

Total 11 people, nine at SKIMS and two at SMHS Hospital, have died of swine flu since the last five months.

In 2009, H1N1 was spreading fast around the world, when the World Health Organisation called it a pandemic. Since then many cases of swine flu have come to the fore, but the number has declined.

In Kashmir, the situation was worst during last winter when 30 swine flu deaths were reported at SKIMS between October 2017 and February 2018.