Vadodara/Ahmedabad: A seven-year-old girl, having no history of foreign contact, on Tuesday became the second victim of swine flu in Gujarat where the number of H1N1 cases rose to 15.
"Seven-year-old Arya Borde, who was admitted to the
SSG hospital on last Wednesday died this afternoon," the
hospital`s medical superintendent Atul Saxena told PTI.
"She was admitted in a critical condition. Her samples
were sent to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in
Delhi where it turned out to be positive," he said.
Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas said, "the girl had
not come in contact with any of his relatives who had
travelled to a foreign country recently and there is a
possibility that this was a case of secondary infection".
She was admitted to the SSG Hospital on August 5, but
she had no viral pneumonitis patch until August 9 and when the
results of H1N1 was confirmed on August 8, she was immediately
administered Tamiflu but the infection had already spread to
Borde`s lungs due to her condition further deteriorated and
she died at 12.30 PM today, the Health Minister said.
He added it seems due to her young age she did not
have proper immunity power and succumbed to the infection.
The first death in Gujarat due to H1N1 virus was of
43-year-old Praveen Patel, an NRI based in Atlanta, US, in the
civil hospital on Sunday. Meanwhile, one more positive case of
the viral disease was recorded today, taking the number of
infected people to 15 in the state.
"So far, 84 suspected cases have been reported in the
state. Of these, 15 have been confirmed with swine flu while
45 have tested negative," Vyas told agency.
The results of 24 people are awaited, he said, adding
10 patients are currently in government hospitals in
Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara.
"The condition of all the admitted patients is stable
and nobody is on ventilator," he said.
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has called an all-party
meeting tomorrow to discuss the action plan for tackling the
disease, which is rapidly spreading across the country.
The state government has set up screening facilities
at four check posts on the border with Maharashtra in South
Gujarat to examine people coming from Pune and Nashik
districts.
The health department has also set up a round-the-
-clock toll-free helpline in Ahmedabad to provide information
regarding the deadly disease.
The rapid spread of swine flu has prompted the Vishwa
Gujarati Samaj (VGS) to issue an advisory to Non-Resident
Indians (NRI), especially Gujaratis, to avoid travelling to
the state this winter, if they are suffering from the disease.
Bureau Report
