First swine flu death in Nepal

March 01, 2015 05:28 pm | Updated 05:29 pm IST - KATHMANDU

A Kathmandu resident who had been admitted to hospital with symptoms of swine flu died in a capital’s hospital on Saturday, officials from the Ministry of Health confirmed.

They also said this is the first instant of a patient dying of swine flu this season. Last year, 18 people had died due to swine flu.

The 50-year old woman, a long-time asthma patient, was also detected with pneumonia after being admitted to the Kathmandu Model Hospital last week. She had not left the capital in recent times. This had led the medical fraternity to conclude that swine flu has already affected several people in the Kathmandu Valley, although the actual spread of the disease is not yet known.

As of Friday, the number of people who have tested positive for the swine flu rose to 31, and of these, 23 are from the capital, reports said.

The medical fraternity here is divided about the exact reach and impact of the swine flu virus.

Some, like Dr Sher Bahadur Pun of the Tropical Hospital in Kathmandu warn of grave consequences if the government did not take measures to control the spread. There are concerns about the adequate supply of flu medicines as well.

However, Dr. Baburam Marasini, director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division at the Department of Health Services, said the disease was not yet an epidemic and the situation was under control.

The government has set up health desks at major transit points along the border with India and also at Kathmandu’s international airport to screen people.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.