Another H1N1 death takes tally to nine

Rawalpindi

The three teaching hospitals in town have received no suspect of influenza H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, in last 24 hours however death of another patient of the infection this week has taken tally to nine.

Data collected by ‘The News’ on Saturday reveals that in last one week, only two more patients have been tested positive for influenza H1N1 taking total number of confirmed patients so far registered with the allied hospitals to 24. Of these 24 confirmed patients, as many as nine died of swine flu or co-morbidities.

To date, Holy Family Hospital received a total of 19 confirmed patients of the infection of which five died of the infection or co-morbidities. As many as three patients were tested positive for swine flu at Benazir Bhutto Hospital and none survived while at District Headquarters Hospital; two patients were tested positive for the infection of which one died of it.

The allied hospitals received a total of 111 suspects of influenza H1N1 in last two months of which 24 were tested positive while confirmatory reports in seven cases were being awaited on Saturday.

On Saturday, no confirmed patient of the infection was undergoing treatment at any of the three allied hospitals. However, as many as three suspects of influenza H1N1 have been undergoing treatment at BBH while four at DHQ Hospital. No patient of the infection was undergoing treatment at HFH on Saturday.

It is important to mention here that the mortality rate among confirmed patients of the infection recorded at the three allied hospitals amounts to nearly 30 per cent which is alarming.

In developed countries, the mortality rate of the infection is below 0.1 per cent while in countries having poor infrastructure in health sector, the mortality rate has been reported up to 10 per cent.

According to health experts, however, only three patients at the allied hospitals died of the infection purely and the other six were suffering from serious complications before reaching hospitals.  Six of the nine patients who died of the infection reached allied hospitals in critical condition.