A 45-year-old woman reportedly undergoing treatment for H1N1 influenza (swine flu) died in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) here on Tuesday.
According to officials at the Deputy Directorate of Public Health, Nagakanni of Vasan Nagar in the city, had developed fever, sore throat, cough and respiratory problems about four days ago. She was initially admitted to a private hospital in the city, where she was given treatment in the intensive care unit.
Since her condition worsened, she was shifted to the MGMGH that had an isolated ward for swine flu cases. However, she did not respond to the treatment and died within a few hours.
A senior official of the State Health Department told The Hindu that she was brought to the hospital with ventilator support. She did not respond to treatment, and died nearly soon after.
Test results awaited
Going by the symptoms and investigation by a private laboratory, it was suspected that she died of H1N1. However, the result of the swab test was awaited from the microbiology laboratory of MGMGH for confirmation.
The official added that she had travelled to Andhra Pradesh recently. She might have contracted the virus from there. The health officials had already completed survey of the residential area of the victim. Preliminary steps had been taken to prevent spreading of virus.
Making it clear that there was no need for panic, he said hospitals in the State were fully prepared to treat swine flu cases. Sufficient stock of Tamilflu tablets had been stocked in leading hospitals in different parts of the State.
