In a first case of death by swine flu in the national Capital, a 51-year-old woman died on Wednesday of swine flu at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Doctors from the hospital said that the deceased was a resident of East Model Town in Ghaziabad and was taken to two other hospitals before she was brought to Ganga Ram in a critical condition on December 21. While the patient died of a multiple organ failure due to swine flu, one of the reasons of her death could be the lack of facilities in Ghaziabad hospitals where she was first admitted.
The patient was first admitted in Ghaziabad’s Yashoda Hospital and was then shifted to Columbia Asia Hospital nearby before she was shifted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in a serious condition. As per doctors in Ganga Ram, when the patient was wheeled in, she was already on a ventilator. According to the Directorate of Health Services, six cases of swine flu have been reported in the national Capital and its neighbouring region this month till now. However, this is the first death due to the H1N1 virus.
“This is the first death due to swine flu this year. A total 32 positive cases of swine flu have been reported in Delhi and NCR since January 1. However, this death will be regarded as a death of swine flu outside Delhi as the patient is from Ghaziabad and was detected with the virus there itself. So going by the records, there has been no death in the national Capital so far this year,” said Dr Dalveer Singh, State Epidemiologist, also holding the additional charge of Public Health in the absence of Additional Director Dr Charan Singh.
The deceased identified as Sheel Goel, resident of East Model Town in Ghaziabad was admitted to the ICU of Ganga Ram Hospital in a serious condition on December 21. “At the time of admission, the patient was in a critical state. She had lung failure and was on high frequency ventilator support. Her diagnosis at Ghaziabad and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital confirmed it to be a case of swine flu,” said spokesperson of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Ajoy Sehgal.
According to records maintained by DHS, one case of swine flu was recorded in January and seven in February in Delhi.Meanwhile, in wake of the first death caused due to H1N1 virus, several hospitals have issued advisories. One of them is the BlK Super Speciality Hospital. Dr RK Singhal, Consultant and Director, Internal Medicine, has issued an advisory stating, “We note with concern a case of death reportedly caused by swine flu in the NCR, as well as few other instances of fatality in Hyderabad.
We advise people to deploy extreme precaution as swine flu at times mimic regular flu and cold and one may not understand the severity of the same. Besides washing hands regularly and not sneezing publicly, one should especially be careful while in train or air travel. Basic precautions like frequent use of soaps and sanitiser, avoiding sharing of plates and glasses and exposure to those infected should surely be taken.”