Kovaipudur woman did not die of A (H1N1) flu

One more suspected case reported in city

The Health Department on Saturday stated that the death of a 36-year-old woman from Kovaipudur at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Wednesday was not due to A (H1N1) influenza.

Results of the tests on her throat swab and blood sample revealed that she died of haemorrhagic fever, health officials said. CMCH Dean A. Edwin Joe said laboratory results confirmed that the woman had not contracted the A (H1N1) virus.

Signs of flu

But, even as this result came out, officials in the health wing of the Coimbatore Corporation said on Saturday that a 56-year-old woman at Tatabad showed signs of the flu.

The civic body scoured the area for cases with similar symptoms and distributed Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) tablets as a preventive measure to persons who were in contact with the suspected case. Surveillance continued in the locality, the officials said. As for the Kovaipudur resident who died on Wednesday, she had shown typical symptoms of the flu.

She was, therefore, treated symptomatically for the flu, both at the private hospital she was first admitted to and then at the CMCH.

Her death had set off a panic among health officials because she did not have any recent travel history -- which raised the suspicion that she could have contracted the virus locally.

Confused

“We were confused on taking the appropriate preventive action as the woman and none of her family members had recent travel history. No persons related to the deceased woman or family members were infected with the virus,,” said a senior official from Health Department. Had she tested positive, an extensive effort would have had to be taken to find out from where she contracted the virus.

Even as the laboratory results were awaited, Oseltamivir tablets were given to those who were in close contact with the woman as a preventive measure, Resident Medical Officer at the CMCH R. Soundravel, said.

Dengue cases

On Saturday, CMCH had nine positive cases of dengue of which four each were from Coimbatore and Tirupur and one from Erode. Of the nine cases, three were children.