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| Swine flu claims first life in Pakistan |
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Sunday, November 08, 2009
By Tauseef-ur-Rahman
PESHAWAR: An Afghan woman became the first victim of swine flu (H1N1) in Pakistan when she died of the disease 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 8:45 am on Saturday,” a staff member of the hospital said.
The condition of the Afghan woman deteriorated when she was brought to the hospital on Thursday. Doctors suggested that she had symptoms of swine flu and reported the matter to the NWFP Health Directorate.
A team of the Public Health Department, headed by Dr Saeed, a microbiologist, took samples of the patient and sent it to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, which confirmed that the woman was suffering from swine flu.
When contacted, NWFP Director General Health Services Dr Fazl Mehmood said the team of experts of the Health Department, who examined the Afghan woman, had received anti-viral vaccination and at present, there was no other case with symptoms of swine flu.
Asked whether the hospital staff, which interacted with the female patient also received vaccination, he said it was the responsibility of the hospital management to vaccinate its staff against the disease.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of the North-West General Hospital, Dr Sardar Muhammad Alam, said: “The newborn is in good health and has no symptoms of swine flu.”
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.
In the meantime, the relatives took her body to the Herat province of Afghanistan.
The incident caused concern among the health authorities, as Afghan nationals are freely crossing into Pakistan. They were worried that 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 spread of swine flu and it can cause problems for the weak health infrastructure in Pakistan,” a health official said, requesting anonymity.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
