BHUBANESWAR: A woman reportedly died of swine flu while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack. This was the first swine flu death in the State this season. Sources said the 72-year-old woman admitted in the hospital on February 14 was tested positive for H1N1.
She succumbed to the influenza after undergoing treatment for over a week. The number of swine flu positive cases are on the upswing since beginning of the year. While so far 16 persons have been tested positive for the seasonal influenza, 10 persons have been detected within just over one fortnight. The affected persons are mostly from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
However, the Health and Family Welfare department officials feigned ignorance about the swine flu death. Director (Public Health) Dr Ajit Mohanty said no report on death due to H1N1 has been received from any private hospital.
As many as 840 persons have been affected with H1N1 and 109 died in the State since 2010. While highest 414 people were detected and 54 had succumbed in 2017, of 206 positive cases, five had died last year. In 2010, the State had reported 92 positive cases and 29 deaths followed by 76 cases and 13 deaths in 2015.