NRI dies of swine flu, toll rises to 4

Ahmedabad, Aug 9 (PTI) A 43-year-old Non-Resident Indian
(NRI), who had come here from Atlanta in the US ten days back,
died on Sunday becoming the fourth fatality of the deadly
swine flu in the country.

Praveen Patel died of the highly infectious disease at
1.30 am at the city civil hospital, the first to succumb to
the ailment in west Indian state of Gujarat, state Health
Secretary Ravi Saxena said.

With Patel's death, the total number of lives claimed by
the virus has climbed to four in the country with the first
being 14-year-old schoolgirl Reeda Shaikh who died on August
three in another west Indian city of Pune, one of the places
worst hit by the infection.

Sanjay Tukaram Kokre, a 42-year-old teacher, and
53-year-old Fahmida Panwala, who was a diabetic with a history
of hypertension, died due to swine flu on Saturday in Pune and
Mumbai respectively.

The number of those infected by the disease has risen to
782 in the country. Altogether 511 patients of the total cases
have been discharged after treatment. The rest are being
treated in stipulated government hospitals across the country.

Patel "was admitted to the hospital here in critical
condition yesterday morning. His left lung was badly damaged,"
the Gujarat Health Secretary said.

Patel, who had returned from Atlanta on July 31, was
admitted to a private hospital for pneumonia and common flu on
Friday.

"He was referred to the civil hospital after doctors
treating him realised that it was not common flu," Saxena
said, adding tests confirmed that he was suffering from swine
flu.

Patel's wife has also been confirmed suffering from swine
flu and is being treated at the civil hospital, he said.

So far, 10 people have been tested positive for H1N1
virus in the state, he said.

With cases of swine flu rising across the country, Union
Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has said each district
hospital will be given 10,000 Tamiflu tablets, the only
medicine against the deadly disease, on a priority basis.

The tablets will be given to keep the stocks ready, he
said yesterday. PTI Team
SDE
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