Two persons die of H1N1, state death count at 28

PUNE: Two persons succumbed to swine flu-induced complications at different hospitals in Pimpri Chinchwad in the last two days, taking the state’s H1N1 casualty count to 28 this year so far.
A 50-year-old man of Pimple Nilakh died of the H1N1 complications at Aundh Civil Hospital on August 28. “The man was admitted to the hospital a on August 27. He was immunocompromised,” a doctor from the hospital said.
Another patient, a 64-year-old woman from Gulave wasti in Bhosari succumbed to the H1N1-associated complications at Nirmaya hospital in Pimpri Chinchwad on August 27.
22 patients critical
A total of 22 patients with swine flu are currently critical and they have been put on ventilator support at different hospitals in Pune (16), Pimpri Chinchwad (4) and Nagpur city (2).
The state health department has vaccinated 1.28 lakh high-risk individuals against the virus this year so far. “We aim to step up the vaccination in view of the significant rise,” Shashikant Jadhav, joint director, state health department, said.
Health activists, however, said the vaccination alone won’t help. “The state health department should also focus on educating people about adopting precautionary measures,” activist Sanjay Dabhade said.