Suspected swine flu death creates flutter in Chittoor

January 18, 2017 01:02 am | Updated 01:02 am IST

Medical and paramedical staff at an emergency camp organised in Chukkavaripalle of Irala mandal in Chittoor district on Tuesday.

Medical and paramedical staff at an emergency camp organised in Chukkavaripalle of Irala mandal in Chittoor district on Tuesday.

CHITTOOR: The death of a homemaker reportedly due to swine flu led to a commotion at Chukkavaripalle village of Irala mandal in the district. The medical authorities are yet to confirm the reason behind the casualty, and said they are awaiting the reports.

The 28-year-old homemaker had complained of illness last week and was treated at a couple of private hospitals. A couple of days ago, she was admitted the CMC Hospital at Vellore, where she died on Monday. Her body was brought to the native village for the last rites on Tuesday.

Medical Officer (Irala mandal) A. Leela told The Hindu that the woman had undertaken a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. “When she complained of fever and symptoms related to swine-flu, she got treated at private hospitals by the family members. She was rushed to the CMC hospital in Vellore, after her condition deteriorated. We are trying to get the reports from the CMC to ascertain whether it is a case of swine-flu casualty,”she said.

The medical official said that two children of the deceased (both aged below 10) were taken to the SVIMS Hospital in Tirupati on Tuesday, and they tested negative to the H1N1 virus. The woman's husband, a motor mechanic, was also diagnosed negative. “As a precautionary measure, we have administered concerned drugs to the family members,” the medical officer said. She appealed to the people in rural areas to immediately rush to the public health centres, area hospitals and government hospital in Tirupati, if they were suffering from the symptoms of swine-flu such as constant fever, cold and body rashes.

An emergency health camp was arranged at the village, and throat swabs were collected from the residents for diagnosis. Dr. Leela in cooperation with the panchayat officials and village elders launched the sanitation drive at several villages in the mandal, including cleaning of water tanks and removal of stagnant water.

Chittoor district, flanked by the borders of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, witnessed a furore last year, with several cases of swine-flu getting reported, including some casualties.

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.