Three A(H1N1) deaths reported in four months in Gulbarga district

Three A(H1N1) deaths have been reported in Gulbarga district from May to July this year. Throat swabs of eight persons were tested during May to August, and five persons had tested positive for the virus.

Sources in the District Surveillance Unit here told The Hindu on Monday that the victims were Zeenath Begum (42) of Chitguppa village in Bidar district, who died at a private hospital here on May 12; Mahananda (25) of Jambrad village at Jewargi taluk in Gulbarga district, who died at the BLDE Medical College Hospital in Bijapur, and Saroj Ashok (3) of Afzalpur town in Gulbarga district who died on July 6 at a private hospital in Bijapur.

The two other persons who had tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus, hailing from Navalgund in Dharwad district and Tintini village in Surpur taluk of Yadgir district, responding to the treatment they received at private hospitals in Gulbarga city.

In May, three persons were subjected to throat swab test and two tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus; in June, one patient underwent the test and tested positive, and in July and August, two patients underwent the test and tested positive for the virus.

Sources said that in July this year, two positive cholera cases were reported in two thickly populated areas of Gulbarga city. A total of 28 patients displaying cholera symptoms were tested from May to August.

No cases of Japanese encephalitis have been reported in the district and the blood samples of four patients did not test positive for the disease.

Sources said that of the total of 201 patients whose blood and stool samples were subjected to tests for chikungunya, eight positive cases were detected from May to August.

While four of the cases were reported in Gulbarga taluk, three were reported from Jewargi and one from Aland taluk.

The highest number of 97 samples were tested in August, of which five tested positive.

Of the total of 222 blood samples of patients displaying dengue symptoms, 15 tested positive for the disease. During August, of the total of 97 blood samples subjected to Elisa test, nine tested positive.