Palakkad man succumbs to H1N1

COIMBATORE: A 40-year-old man from Palakkad, died after testing positive for the H1N1 virus in the government hospital on Friday morning. Health department officials said that the patient had already been suffering from lung and chronic kidney disease for more than two years prior to this.
The patient, Muthukumar, whose death would be included in Kerala’s H1N1 death toll, reportedly started suffering from severe breathlessness more than a week ago.“He was rushed to a private hospital with fever, but everyone thought that his lung disease had gotten worse,” said a spokesperson from the collectorate. “It was only a few days later that the patient tested positive for H1N1 virus,” he said. The patient was reportedly shifted to the government hospital only on Thursday afternoon when his condition deteriorated. “Because of his pre-existing condition, all attempts to revive him failed,” said the spokesperson.
The public health department has now begun creating awareness on the virus in all the eight check-points or entry points into the district. “We have put up large posters with its symptoms, places where you can get a check-up done, get tested and receive medications,” said the deputy director of public health Dr A Somasundaram.
The district has recorded 109 H1N1 virus cases and five deaths since January, and continues to see fresh cases. However, health department authorities insist that the virus has shown signs of subsiding with the onset of summer. “The number of fresh cases and patients exhibiting symptoms like sore throat and breathlessness has come down over the last week or so,” said Somasundaram. “However, we will continue our awareness programs till we stop receiving fresh cases. We are still on alert,” he said.
Last week, the health department had instructed all hospitals to disinfect their entire campuses and ambulances.