H1N1 kills 80-year-old, third death in 3 days in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The H1N1 virus claimed three lives in as many days. An 80-year-old Vikhroli resident admitted to civic-run Kasturba Hospital, near Saat Rasta, was the third person to succumb to it on Saturday afternoon.
On Thursday, two women in their 30s passed away due to H1N1 in different city hospitals, taking the death toll due to the virus to 26 so far this year.
A doctor from the hospital said the patient, who had been transferred from Godrej Hospital in Vikhroli, had heart disease as well as high blood pressure. Patients with co-morbidities such as diabetes or heart disease are more susceptible to complications due to H1N1, say surveys done by BMC's public health department in the previous years.
Doctors are worried about the sudden spurt in H1N1 cases at a time when July temperatures are above normal. The H1N1 graph started rising suddenly in June-July after a brief lull in April-May. BMC's health charts show that June 2015 saw 19 H1N1 cases in civic hospitals, but the numbers rose to 75 in July till date; 15 patients tested positive on Friday alone.
BMC's epidemiology officer Dr Mini Khetarpal, though, said the situation was under control. "We have adequate medicines and BMC is offering tests at discounted rates. People should not ignore fever for long," she said.
Infectious diseases specialist Dr Om Srivastava said it is time the state decided to conduct autopsies on H1N1 victims. "When 30-40% of the victims are young and people without any co-morbidities, we should find out why H1N1 is suddenly killing them." He pointed out to one of the women who died on Thursday who had no risk factors or other diseases. "Even the 80-year-old who passed away on Saturday was doing better when she suddenly worsened." There was a lot on debate over an American study earlier this year that showed mutation in H1N1 virus in circulation in India. Indian scientists, though, refused to accept the mutation theory.