Situation is now getting worse in Pune with the fourth victim (10-year-old Amrita suffering from Down’s syndrome) dying on Friday. Six more are critical and on ventilator support.A high-level meeting was held to understand the cause and spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and methods to check its spread. It was headed by J K Banthia, additional chief secretary and attended by people from the Directorate of Health Services, Mumbai’s Haffkine Institute, Pune’s National Institute of Virology and the Directorate of Medical education and research.
The committee discussed that the patients who died with swine flu are the ones who suffered from other co-morbid conditions (because their immunity was compromised) like diabetes, hypertension, Down’s syndrome, cancer etc. They checked the virus and announced that there is no mutation seen in its structure.
The weather conditions in the last two months have been erratic with the difference in day and night temperatures being quite high, something whch could have compromised the immunity of the people as well as led to faster spread of the virus, they said. Read More
