Punjab has reported the first swine flu death of the year with a 55-year-old woman succumbing to the H1N1 virus at a hospital in Amritsar on Tuesday. Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Sandhu Colony at Batala road in Amritsar, was admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition on January 17, said Dr HP Singh from Escorts Fortis Hospitals.
“The patient was detected with swine flu and immediately put on ventilator support but her condition did not improve,” he said. This is the first case of death due to swine flu in Punjab this year, officials said. Four persons have died due to the disease in neighbouring Haryana while one succumbed to the deadly virus in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana in the recent past.
Amritsar district epidemiologist Dr Raju Chauhan said that the medical fraternity in the city was puzzled as the patient had no known history of travel to any area affected with swine flu or any interactions with any suspected cases. To top it all, the kin of the deceased had failed to provide proper information about her itinerary and interactions with probable victims, he said.
He added that four of her relatives also showed suspected symptoms of swine flu, but they were tested negative, and administered precautionary treatment. Even a survey conducted by the Animal Husbandry Department had failed to trace any signs of the ailment in the animals in the city, said Dr Chauhan, adding that the department has been unable to identify any mortality amongst the animals and birds in the area.