COIMBATORE : In a first case of death due to swine flu infection this year, a 40-year-old woman from Kottaimedu died at a private hospital here in the early hours on Friday.
The deceased M Mumtaj (40), wife of Mohammed Iqbal from Kottaimedu, who had recently visited Kerala, was admitted to the G Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, with the symptoms of Swine Flu last Saturday. Testing of her blood samples revealed that she was infected with H1N1 virus.
Following this, she was admitted in a quarantine ward and monitored by a team of doctors. Unfortunately, she died in the hospital at around 1 am on Friday.
“Mumtaj also suffered from obesity problem and was on ventilation and Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO). Her elder sister’s grand son Shahid Ahmed (10), who also tested positive for H1N1 virus infection, had recovered after treatment and was discharged a couple of days ago,” hospital sources said.
Deputy Director of Public Health A Somasundaram said, “We have given medicine to her family members, relatives, hospital staff who had direct contact with the patient. Already we have done disinfection in the surroundings of her residence and have instructed the Corporation Health Officer to do another round of disinfection in the locality.”
He also said, there were enough stock of Tamiflu table for supplying to H1N1 infected patients.
Corporation Health Officer P Aruna said, “We have conducted a medical camp in the locality, where the deceased Mumtaj lived, and gave treatment to those who had symptoms of cough and running nose.”
No other person from the area has been identified with the H1N1 virus infection, the officer said.
She said, “We have carried out disinfection measures, on objects and at places where the deceased had direct contact. We have also taken steps to improve sanitation by removing solid waste in the locality.”