Pregnant woman dies of suspected swine flu

A 26-year-old pregnant woman, who was on ventilator at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) since Monday, died of swine flu
like symptoms at 6.50am on Tuesday morning. Her blood and swab samples were sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, on Tuesday morning and the reports are expected to come only by Wednesday or Thursday evening.

The woman, a resident of Indora, had been brought to GMCH in critical condition on Monday afternoon. She was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and was soon put on ventilator.

"It was her first pregnancy and she was only four months pregnant. She was under treatment at Ambedkar Hospital in Indora and at a private children's hospital in Dharampeth before coming to GMCH. She was put on ventilator as she was suffering from pneumonia and respiratory problem. She died of acute respiratory distress, hypoxia and pneumonia in the ICU. She had been put on Fluvir (Oseltamivir) immediately after admission. We did not shift her to the swine flu isolation ward as the shifting could have complicated her situation," said GMCH dean Dr Deepti Dongaonkar.

Another patient, a 25-year-old man from Jagnath Budhwari, who has been under treatment in the isolation ward and is on ventilator, has tested positive for swine flu. The doctors said his condition is improving and is stable.

On Tuesday, three more suspected patients, a 35-year-old man from Dhapewada near Kalmeshwar, a 30-year-old woman from Narendra Nagar, and a 22-year-man from Shriram Nagar near Narendra Nagar were admitted to the isolation ward. The condition of all three is stable.

Of the eight reports received on Tuesday, only one (the 25-year-old man on ventilator) tested positive. Till now only 73 patients (both outdoor and indoor) have tested positive for H1N1 virus, and of these only three died of swine flu.