HYDERABAD: Two patients who have been suffering from swine flu have died in the State in the last two days, taking the death toll to 16. A total of 534 swine flu positives cases were reported till date from the start of the year. On Monday, out of 103 samples sent for tests at the Institute of Preventive Medicine, 27 tested positive for the flu.
Doctors at Gandhi Hospital, which is the nodal centre for swine flu, said that while the woman who died in the early hours of Tuesday was in critical condition, the man who died on Monday was brought to the hospital in a critical condition.
Since the swine flu virus thrives in low temperatures, the number of cases are increasing now in the State. All the 14 beds in disaster ward of the government hospital are filled. While three of them tested positive, others are suffering from flu and are critical.
Associate professor in pulmonology department, Gandhi Hospital, Dr T Pramod Kumar said that though all beds are occupied most of the time, we do not send away patients in critical condition. “We provide ventilator support and treatment. We don’t want to take chance with lives of patient who are brought to the hospital in critical condition,” Dr Pramod Kumar said.