The city added another death to its increasing list of mortalities due to influenza A(H1N1). On Tuesday, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) health officials confirmed the death of Prema (51), a resident of Subbanna Garden near Vijayanagar, in a private hospital on Monday.
Meanwhile, the rising cases of the disease in the city has set off alarm bells in the BBMP, which on Tuesday, set up helpline to assist people even as 24 fresh A(H1N1) cases were reported. A Health Department official said of the 24 cases, 21 were reported in the BBMP limits while three were in Bengaluru Urban district limits.
The city has so far reported seven of the total A(H1N1) 12 deaths in the State this year, and about 75 per cent (99) of the total 131 cases in the State.
At a meeting with doctors in BBMP hospitals, officials reviewed the mechanism to tackle such cases. “We have decided to step up awareness across the city as there is a large number of migrant population and crowded areas,” a BBMP official said.
BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayana said, “All our hospitals are adequately stocked with medicines,” he said.
Helpline
Those seeking information on the symptoms or the treatment of influenza A(H1N1) can call the 24/7 helpline — 080- 22975684.
Doctors have classified the symptoms into A, B and C categories. While the first two categories are for symptoms of sore throat, fever, cold and cough, category C is for people with symptoms of chest pain and breathlessness who require testing and treatment.
