A 28-year-old pregnant woman, who was diagnosed as suffering from swine flu, died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here on Wednesday. This was the first swine flu case reported in the district this year and also the first after a gap of one year.
The woman from Gajuwaka area was in the seventh month of her pregnancy and visited her parents at Muralinagar for Sankaranti festival. She was admitted to hospital on January 17 when the fever, cold and cough she was suffering from did not subside. Tests done on her confirmed swine flu on January 24 and being pregnant her immunity levels were low and she died on Wednesday morning after being on ventilator for many days, District Nodal Officer for swine flu L.B.H.S. Devi said.
Swine flu cases were reported in the country for the first time in 2009 and 2010 and they were due to those coming from some foreign countries carrying the H1N1 virus. This airborne virus settles down in the atmosphere and sporadic cases of swine flu are being noticed. “Those having low immunity might be affected and hence it is important that one should consult a chest physician if the symptoms for common flu persist for two to three days,” Dr. Devi said. Visakhapatnam district recorded 29 cases during 2009 and five of them died and next year there were 16 cases form the district and 20 more patients from outside the district were also reported or diagnosed here. A total of 10 patients succumbed to swine flu. No case was reported during 2011 and eight were reported during 2012 out of which two died. Three cases were reported last year and they were all cured.
