Boy dies of swine flu, brother tests positive

Chennai, Aug 10 (PTI) In the first swine flu fatality
in south Indian state Tamil Nadu, a four-and-a-half-year-old
boy died of H1N1 virus while his 11-year-old brother tested
positive for the infection, prompting health officials to
start screening their neighbours.

Apprehending spread of the virus, schools in the
vicinity declared a holiday for about a week even as 52 people
have tested positive in the state so far.

Sanjay B, who was hospitalised on August 7 in a
critical condition and tested positive, died Monday morning,
following multiple organ failure, hospital sources said. He
was on ventilator support.

The boy's blood pressure and pulse started to
deteriorate "drastically" and he succumbed to the disease,
said Dr N Prahalad, who attended on him at Mehta Hospital.

Health Secretary V K Subbaraj told PTI that 40 of 52
confirmed cases reported have been treated and discharged and
the rest were undergoing treatment. The number was likely to
go up with more suspected cases being admitted at hospitals in
Chennai, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore on Monday.

"The boy had been suffering from asthma for the past
two years and died of multiple organ failure today," he said.
Sanjay is the youngest and sixth victim of the virus in India.

The government was "fully geared up to tackle" the
situation, Subbaraj said, adding test kits required at the
King Institute at Guindy, the only authorised centre in Tamil
Nadu for swab tests for swine flu, have been stocked there
after being "diverted" from veterinary hospitals.

"It is unfortunate that the boy succumbed to the
disease due to multiple organ failure," Dr Prahalad said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has convened a
high-level emergent meeting on Tuesday to discuss steps to
deal with the situation and may consider setting up a
monitoring committee, headed by him. Other issues like
reported scarcity of test kits would also be discussed, he
said.

"We have enough medicines in stock, which will be
regularly supplied to all district headquarters", said Senior
Regional Director (Health and Welfare) for Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry Dr S Palanivelu.

Medical officers have inspected the premises of the
school where Sanjay was studying and made all necessary
arrangements to check spread of the virus. The school has
declared a holiday for two days from Monday, officials said.

Chennai Corporation officials said medical teams would
visit schools and screen students and immediately refer for
treatment, children with flu symptoms.

Meanwhile, seven suspected cases were reported in
Coimbatore and Tiruchirapalli. These included two Railway
Protection Force (RPF) constables who were quarantined at the
government hospital in Tiruchirapalli for suspected H1N1 virus
after their return from Mumbai. PTI SNR
SDE
NNNN