BHUBANESWAR: Swine flu has claimed two more lives in Odisha since Monday night taking the total death toll in the state to three.
A 42-year-old woman from Cuttack, who was undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College died in the wee hours of Tuesday. She had been undergoing medical treatment since August 5. On Monday night, her condition deteriorated, and she was taken to the SCBMCH where she breathed her last.
Another death was reported from Bhubaneswar. The victim, a 53-year-old woman, was being shifted to a government facility from a private hospital where she had been undergoing treatment since July 29. The Health Department said, she was being shifted without doctors' approval and died on the way.
Both were suffering acute respiratory distress apart from pneumonia. One of them was on life support.
As many as 59 cases of H1N1 have been reported from the state so far. Fifty two samples tested positive for H1N1 the last one week alone. Of the 29 samples that were taken for testing on Tuesday 13 turned out to be positive.
As the rapid dissemination of the disease has stirred panic, the demand for vaccines has shot up. The three injectable vaccines have been flying off the shelves.
The Utkal Chemists and Druggists Association (UCDA), the umbrella body of the medicine retailers and wholesalers in the state said that adequate stock is available. Currently, injectable vaccines of Zydus, Lupin, and Abbott are available in the market. Serum Institute of India has a nasal variety.
“We are aware of the demand and ready to replenish the stock whenever necessary,” president of the association P Satyanarayana said.
On the other hand, the Health Department has already stocked Tamiflu -- an antiviral medicine for treatment of flu -- in the government health facilities.
The Directorate of Health Services has already asked the districts to identify the health workers who had engaged in H1N1 management so that they can be vaccinated on time.
Private medical colleges and hospitals have been told to vaccinate their staff and create separate screening facilities.
The directorate said there is no need to panic as the seasonal flu is preventable and curable if the basic protocol is adhered to.
Across the country, 15,121 people have been tested positive for H1N1 and 734 deaths were reported so far.