13-month-old girl dies after sudden swine flu outbreak grips Assam

New Delhi: Assam is in the grip of a sudden outbreak of the H1N1 flu (swine flu). A 13-month-old girl in Assam’s Barak Valley has already died of the flu and some others are undergoing treatment in the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) after they contracted the virus. The state health department is monitoring the situation and is on its toes.

The family members of the deceased girl said the baby developed fever and reeled under severe cough on April 28. The next day she was taken to SK Roy Civil Hospital in Hailakandi. Later, she was shifted to SMCH. Her swab sample through RT-PCR were collected. It was on May 4 that the doctors confirmed that the girl had been infected by the H1N1 virus.

The girl’s family members left SMCH without the doctor’s advice and she died on the way home, Hailakandi district immunisation and surveillance officer Dr K Thambalsana Rongmei was quoted as saying in a Hindustan Times report.

He added that the girl was in the ICU in SMCH, and the doctors were planning to put her on ventilator as the infant wan’t able to breathe properly, but the family members didn’t wait and took her away from the hospital.

In the last 15 days, at least five cases of H1N1 virus have been detected, and the baby was one of the patients, SMCH principal Dr Bhaskar Gupta told HT. He added that of the other four patients, one has been cured, while the other three are undergoing treatment. Gupta said the hospital was equipped enough to handle more patients.

After the death of the infant, a team of experts visited the house of the girl. The area is under strict vigil. People are being sensitised about the disease and ways to prevent it. Health workers are keeping a close watch and ensuring that the virus doesn’t spread its tentacles.

Meanwhile, cases of swine flu had crossed the 1,000 mark in April in Rajasthan. As many as 945 cases were reported in the state between January 1 and March 31. In Jaipur, there has been a sharp rise in swine flu cases, which have increased from 498 to 517 in the last 33 days, as was reported on May 4.