BHUBANESWAR: It is peak summer but swine flu continues to raise its ugly head. At least two women tested positive for swine flu in private hospitals of the City on Wednesday. One of them is on ventilator support.
Sources in the Health Department said a 36-year-old woman of Mayurbhanj district was detected with symptoms of the flu at AMRI Hospital. The samples sent to Regional Medical Research Laboratory tested positive. The woman had travelled to Kolkata about three months back.
Though her condition is stable, she is under ventilator support because of acute respiratory stress.
The other woman is admitted to Kalinga Hospital. The 40-year-old hails from Balipatna but has no travel history.
With the fresh cases, the total number of swine flu victims in the State has risen to 49 this year. So far, the flu has claimed nine persons.
What has surprised the Health Department is the timing. Though the scorching heat prevents the vector to populate and in turn leads to lesser infection, the new cases have pointed at the fact that the virus is still in prevalence.
“The fluctuating climatic conditions may have contributed to the new infections though this usually is the time when the positive reports go down only to show up during winter. Frequent showers may have provided favourable condition for the virus,” said an official.