Swine flu claims lives of two persons in Karachi

KARACHI: Swine flu or H1N1 Influenza has started taking its toll in Karachi and health officials in the city on Monday confirmed two deaths due to the infectious disease alone in the month of January 2016.

“A one-year-old baby girl died due to H1N1 influenza complications yesterday (Sunday) at a private hospital in the city while an 83-year-old man had died due to swine flu and pneumonia on January 16,” Director of Health Karachi, Dr. Zafar Aijaz, told The News.

Earlier, a two-year-old child Allah Bux was tested positive for H1N1 Influenza during medical tests conducted at the Sentinel Influenza lab at the Civil Hospital Karachi, making the total swine flu positive cases to seven, officials said.

Health authorities in Karachi asked people to report to them if a person has high-grade fever with cough, sore throat, diarrhea and vomiting but added that swine flu is an ordinary flu which only causes complications in people with compromised immunity including very old and sick people and small children.

An outbreak of swine flu in various cities of Punjab has claimed lives of several people in Multan, Lahore and Rawalpindi and some other cities of the province and now it has travelled to Karachi and resulted in the deaths of, at least, two people.