GULBARGA: Two deaths due to H1N1 in a span of 20 days in the district has become a cause of concern for both the people and the Health Department.
Mahananda Vijaykumar (25) died due to H1N1 on June 24 at Jamberal village of Jewargi taluk, about 80 km from Gulbarga. Mahananda had been married to Vijaykumar for four years and was pregnant. She had come to her parents’ home six months ago.
Mahananda was down with fever and cough on June 15. On the suggestion of doctors at Yadrami Primary Health Centre, she was taken to BLD Hospital on June 22, where she was confirmed positive for H1N1. She died after giving birth to a stillborn.
Her maternal uncle Siddanagowda Patil said Mahananda’s body was buried as per the suggestions of Health Department officials, even though their custom is to cremate.
After Mahananda’s death a number of people in the village complained of fever, body pain and headache.
When Express visited the village on Saturday, some villagers were seen suffering from fever.
District Surveillance Officer Dr Amaresh Kollur told Express that as a precautionary measure, blood samples were drawn from 310 people in the village in the past 10 days but none of them tested positive for H1N1. The people suffering from common fever are being treated, he said.
Kollur said a three-year-old girl died of H1N1 on July 6. Saroja, daughter of Ashok Gour, was suffering from fever for about a week and was being treated by a private doctor in Afzalpur.
The child was referred to Ashwini Hospital in Bijapur and was confirmed positive for H1N1. She died in the hospital, Kollur said.