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| First casualty of Swine flu in Pakistan |
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Afghan woman dies in Peshawar hospital
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Tauseef-ur-Rahman
PESHAWAR: An Afghan woman became the first Swine flu (H1N1) victim in Pakistan when she died at a private hospital here on Saturday.
Lateefa Bibi, 40, was treated at the North-West General Hospital and Research Centre in Hayatabad town where she was brought with severe chest infection.
“The patient, who also gave birth to a child in the hospital on Friday, died at 8.45am Saturday morning,” a staff member of the hospital said.
The relatives took her body to the western Herat province of Afghanistan.
The incident caused concern among the health authorities as Afghan nationals are freely crossing into Pakistan. They were worried the free movement of Afghans into Pakistan could prove dangerous in the spread of this viral infection.
“Even the world’s developed nations are struggling to control the Swine flu spread and it can cause problems for the weak health infrastructure of Pakistan,” a health official said while seeking anonymity.
The condition of the Afghan lady deteriorated when she was brought to hospital on Thursday. The doctors at the newly-commissioned private hospital concluded that she had symptoms of Swine flu and reported the matter to the NWFP health directorate.
A team of Public Health Department headed by Dr Saeed, a microbiologist, took samples of the patient and sent it to National Institute of Health, Islamabad that confirmed that the lady was suffering for Swine flu (H1N1) pandemic.
“The newly-born baby is in good health and has no symptoms of the Swine flu,” said Dr Sardar Muhammad Alam, chief executive of the North-West General Hospital. He said the relatives of the infant who had to shift the body of his mother to Afghanistan could not take him along due to the long and arduous journey.
When contacted, NWFP Director General Health Services, Dr Fazl Mahmood said that the team of experts of public health department who examined the Afghan female patient had received anti-viral vaccination and presently there was no other case with symptoms of Swine flu.
Asked whether the staff of the private hospital that interacted with the female patient also received vaccination against the virus, he said that it was the responsibility of the hospital management to vaccinate its staff against the disease.
He said that the provincial health department was also sending a letter to the health authorities of Afghanistan to take serious steps against the virus as it could also affect the bordering NWFP. He assured the people that the situation was under control and the department has taken all precautionary measures against the fatal disease.
Provincial Minister for Health Syed Zahir Ali Shah said that his department would initiate an inquiry as to why the private health facility admitted the patient when it had no proper arrangements or medicines to tackle Swine flu.
He said the department was reactivating Heath Regulatory Authority (HRA) to keep a vigil on the private health outlets across the province, adding that the summary for the appointment of director HRA has been sent to chief minister for approval.
The minister said the health department has sufficient medicines to cope with any epidemic in the province.
Dr Sardar Alam, when asked why the staff of his private hospital was not vaccinated against Swine flu, said that without any symptoms of the disease there was no need to provide vaccination to the staff.
“We have directed all the staff that interacted with the patient to check their temperature twice a day and also if they feel any symptoms of flu they should immediately report to the hospital,” he added.
Dr Sardar Alam said they could not give anti-viral medicines to normal people as the virus could develop resistance against the medicine.
It was learnt the lady was kept in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with other patients and the central air-conditioning system was also switched on. She was shifted to the isolation ward and air-conditioning system was switched off when the public health team warned the hospital management that it could infect other people.
However, Dr Sardar Alam refuted the claim adding that the hospital management had taken all precautionary measures advised by the public health team.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
