Hadapsar woman succumbs to swine flu, death count rises to 3

PUNE: A 55-year-old woman from Hadapsar succumbed to swine flu-associated complications at a private hospital on August 21, taking the H1N1 casualty count in the city to three this year so far.
The woman had developed fever with cough and mild breathlessness on August 6, for which she consulted a neighbourhood doctor. When her condition worsened, she was admitted to KEM hospital on August 11.However, she was shifted to Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital for better care the same day.
“She developed sepsis during the course of her treatment and succumbed to H1N1 pneumonia, sepsis with acute respiratory distress syndrome around 2.40pm on August 21,” a doctor from the hospital said.
11 patients critical
As many as 11 patients diagnosed with the contagion are currently critical and have been put on ventilator support at different hospitals in the city. Of them, five are local residents, while the remaining ones were referred to hospitals in the city from adjoining rural parts for better treatment.
Since 2009 swine flu pandemic, the California strain of the virus (influenza A (H1N1) pdm09) had been doing the rounds in India. Since January this year, however, NIV scientists have been seeing only the Michigan strain of the swine flu virus. Experts said the new strain could be behind the increase in cases and mortality, but it is yet to be proved scientifically.
“The new strain of the virus is sensitive to oseltamivir drug popularly known as Tamiflu or Fluvir medicines,” a scientist working with NIV said.
As per the NIV scientists, the molecular markers of virulence do not indicate that this strain (Michigan strain) is more virulent than the California strain. "But since this is a new strain, the entire population for the virus is entirely virgin and the existing herd immunity in the community is of no use against the new strain," he said.
To check the number of cases and mortality, the Maharashtra government has been providing vaccine doses to districts and municipal corporations for free vaccination since July 2015.
Initially, the vaccine was on offer only for pregnant women in second and third trimester. Later, in December 2015, people with diabetes and hypertension were also covered. “Children below the age of five, elderly people aged 65 or more, people suffering from lung, kidney and liver diseases, people on long-term steroid medications and those with low immunity are vulnerable to the contagion,” doctors said.