India recorded its first death from influenza A (H1N1) virus in the western Indian city of Pune Monday while two fresh cases of swine flu were detected in Bangladesh yesterday.
A 14-year-old girl, student of class IX, died in Pune Monday night after she was admitted to a private hospital and got the proper treatment "too late", Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told a television news channel.
Referring to the death, Azad said she had fever and was taken to a doctor who treated her for normal flu. When her condition started deteriorating, she was taken to a private hospital and was treated for normal flu again for the first two days.
“As her condition even worsened and both the lungs were affected, the hospital authorities realised that it was not a normal case of flu. But by that time, it was too late. It was too late for the Tamiflu medication,” Azad said adding had the test done on time and drug given, “the life could have been saved”.
A statement of Indian health ministry last night said the deterioration in the girl's condition led to her multi organs failure.
However, the hospital authorities in Pune claimed that the girl had no history of foreign tour nor any contact with a person afflicted with swine flu.
Seven more people tested positive for the flu Monday, taking the total number of cases to 558 in India. Of these, 470 patients have been discharged after treatment. About 2,479 people have been tested so far, reported our New Delhi correspondent.
Meanwhile, two new cases of swine flu were detected in Bangladesh yesterday, raising the number of infected to 32, government sources confirmed.
At a discussion on "Pandemic Influenza: Media Coverage" at a city hotel Prof Mahmudur Rahman, director of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said of the infected 28 people have already been discharged by this time.
Talking about global scenario and preparedness of Bangladesh he also said more than 161 countries have confirmed swine flu cases and some 816 people died since July 27, 2009.
"India confirmed a death from swine flu yesterday," he said, adding that as April-June is the flu season, people should be careful and ensure personal hygiene during the time.
He said the government had directed to distribute health-screening card to the airlines so that no passenger infected with swine flu or having the flu symptoms can enter the country undetected.
"But eight to 10 airlines are yet to introduce the health-screening card. Hence a technical meeting will be held at the office of the director general of health services soon," said Prof Rahman, adding though Bangladesh is doing well in containing swine flu and has taken various measures, in no way we can neglect the situation. Expectant mothers, people with co-morbid situation and obese are the high-risk group, he continued.
It is absolute to maintain personal hygiene, especially washing hands with soap, said Carel De Rooy, Unicef representative in Bangladesh. The experts at the discussion, organised by Unicef, also sought media cooperation to overcome people's panic and clarify confusions.