Click to play videoNew Delhi: The H1N1 panic is spreading as fast as the virus across the country with two deaths being reported early on Monday morning.
An Ayurvedic doctor, who was working for Sassoon hospital in Pune, died of swine flu-related complications, taking the viral death toll to five in India.
Balasaheb Laxman Mane, a private practioner was brought to the hospital on August 7 with severe broncho-pneumonia after he tested positive on August 6.
Dean of Sassoon Hospital, Arun Jhamkar, told CNN-IBN that Mane was working in the slum areas of Pune and was immediately administered Tamiflu double dose at Sassoon once he tested positive. "He was put on ventilator and oxygenation was started. His lungs started responding. But haemodynamics failed after some time. We did everything possible but his heart did not respond. He died at 7:20 am today (Monday)," Jhamkar said.
The second death was reported on Monday from Chennai where a four-year-old boy suffering from H1N1 influenza died at a private city hospital.
An asthma patient, the boy was put on ventilator support and was undergoing treatment for chest congestion for the past two weeks.
He was also said to be undergoing dialysis and then suffered multiple organ failure.
Doctors say the boy showed swine flu symptoms last week.
As a precaution, a public health team was also sent to the Velacherry area - where the boy lived - to ascertain if his was only an isolated case or whether the virus had affected others as well.
"The boy was in a very critical condition. He had been suffering from asthma and he had been taken from one hospital to another for various complications. Ultimately he landed up in this hospital for a kidney-related problem and they found the boy testing positive (for swine flu)," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary V K Subburaj said.
Director of Public Health, S Elango, confirmed the death was due to multiple organ failure.
These two deaths take the swine flu toll in India to six.
Pune schoolgirl Rida Shaikh had died August 3, becoming India's first swine flu victim. Sanjay Kokare, a school teacher, died in Sassoon Hospital, also in Pune after midnight on Saturday.
The other two swine flu victims were Pravin Patel, an NRI who died at the civil hospital in Gujarat's main city Ahmedabad early Sunday, and Fahmida Panwala, who succumbed to the virus late Saturday in Mumbai's Kasturba Hospital.
On Sunday, the union health ministry had said the total number of people infected by the virus in the country was 864.
The doctors and health authorities have stepped up action and are advising people with flu-like symptoms to come forward and get themselves examined.
Maharashtra:
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has also pressed the panic button, taking no chances in dealing with suspect cases.
The state that has recorded the maximum number of cases has decided it will get Tamiflu drug sold via the private sector for free.
Local doctors have also been given the nod to administer the drug to suspected cases, without having to wait for the swab test results.
The Health Ministry has asked Maharasthra -- which saw 3 of the 4 H1N1 deaths -- to make all major private hospitals isolate wards and train staff to deal with the virus.
Maharashtra recorded 46 new patients, taking the state's total of H1N1 cases to 276, said State Swine Flu Control Room head Pradeep Awate.
Of these, 42 cases were from Pune taking the city's total to 203, and four in Mumbai, making a total of 46. Another 25 are taking treatment in Satara, and the total number of patients in various hospitals till Sunday evening was 81, Awate said.
“The local doctors at these government-authorised hospitals can test and give Tamiflu to suspected patients till throat swabs tests come, no need to wait for test results,” said Chief Minister Ashok Chavan
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi too called an emergency meeting of the state health officials on Sunday.
The Centre too has stepped in for damage control. The government has decided to make available at least 10,000 tablets to each district. Every state has been asked to open a helpline to inform the people about the disease.
Delhi:
The Delhi government has identified 14 hospitals that have been designated to tackle H1N1 patients.
But it is not considering roping in private hospitals as of now.
With the city reporting 13 fresh cases of swine flu, the Delhi government said on Sunday said it will issue an advisory to all schools to take precautionary measures but appealed to the people not to "panic".
Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit, who chaired a special cabinet meeting to review the flu situation in the city, told reporters that though some school managements have decided to close their institutions after flu cases, the government "is not issuing any instruction to close schools".
The national capital has so far reported 228 cases of swine flu, of which 170 patients have been discharged and 58 are under treatment, she said. Delhi had reported 215 flu cases till yesterday.
"The people of Delhi should not panic that there is a big outbreak of swine flu. But they should take precautions... We appeal to the families of victims to maintain quarantine and wear masks to prevent spread of the disease."
In Jammu and Kashmir, four students, who were showing symptoms of swine flu, were treated at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital here and sent home.
The students, who were suffering from fever, cough and running nose came for check up at the GMC hospital, its Principal Rajinder Singh told PTI.
"They were given treatment and the blood samples and saliva was collected from all of them and sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) New Delhi," he said, adding all of them have been sent home after being treated.
Two of them -- a boy and girl -- both engineering students, had come from Bangalore and Pune on vacation and came for a check up in GMC hospital here last night after they had fever and cough.
West Bengal:
In Kolkata, two more persons with suspected swine flu symptoms have been admitted to the state-run Infectious Disease Hospital at Beliaghata in the city today.
The two persons who were admitted on Sunday include a passenger from Bangladesh who has been referred by the screening staff at NSC Bose International Airport. The other had arrived here from Maharashtra.
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