Two more persons have died of swine flu in the last 48 hours in Hyderabad. While a 40-year-old man from Nellore district died at Gandhi Hospital on Sunday evening, a 55-year-old man from Yakutpura died at a private hospital on Saturday.
So far, between December and January, 26 persons have lost their lives due to swine flu in Telangana (health authorities however maintain the figure at 22). The death of the person from Nellore district is the second swine flu fatality in Andhra Pradesh. According to health officials, wife of the 55-year-old deceased from Yakutpura also has symptoms of swine flu and is undergoing treatment. Meanwhile, 52 fresh cases of swine flu have tested positive out of 116 samples tested by health authorities on Monday night. The total number of swine flu positive cases in Telangana has shot up to 440 in January.
Large number of private hospital doctors have pointed out that there is a delay from IPM, which is a big hindrance for them to start swine flu treatment. Senior doctors, who have handled swine flu patients earlier, however, pointed out that Tamiflu tablets are usually given even before the patients are tested positive. “If cold, cough and fever persists for over 48 hours, then WHO guidelines advice doctors to immediately put them on Tamiflu. There is no need to wait for diagnostic results,” says swine flu expert Dr. K. Subhakar.
Meanwhile, a senior air force officer from Air Force Academy, Dundigal who tested positive is undergoing treatment at Military Hospital in Secunderabad. The 20-day-old baby, who had tested positive and being treated in Gandhi Hospital, is stable.
