TIRUCHY: In the first swine flu death in the district this year, a 46-year-old man from Thanjavur district died in a hospital here on Tuesday. Nazrudeen from Kumbakonam was admitted to a local hospital with a severe fever last week and shifted to the Tiruchy hospital on Monday as his condition worsened and he showed symptoms of swine flu.
“Though the patient was diagnosed with the H1N1 infection at an early stage, his life couldn’t be saved. He was first treated in a private hospital in Kumbakonam and later referred to a private hospital in Tiruchy,” said Dr Subramani, deputy director of health services.
He said that another patient diagnosed with swine flu at an early stage, N Saratha from Lalgudi, was stable and would leave the government Tiruchy hospital this week. Subramani said special medical campaigns were being conducted across the district to prevent major flu outbreaks. Nineteen people died of the swine flu last year.
Dr G Anitha, dean of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, said, “In all government hospitals in the district, preventive medications are being distributed among patients with recurring fever and their neighbours.”And the viral fever count is gradually increasing at the hospital with 17 patients being treated over the past one week.