Swine flu kills more, countrywide toll climbs to 89

The nationwide swine flu toll climbed to 89 as a 39-year-old man, who was suffering from swine flu, died at a hospital in Navi Mumbai.

M. Shaikh, who had tested positive for H1N1 and was undergoing treatment at the D.Y. Patil hospital in Navi Mumbai died on Thursday night, Navi Mumbai Chief Health officer Dr Deepak Paropkari said.

Earlier a teenaged girl and two women had died due to the virus in Karnataka and Maharashtra while 177 fresh cases of infection were reported from various states.

16-year-old Sunanda Kandawal was admitted to BLD Medical College Hospital in Bijapur in Karnataka on August 24 with fever and cough but had to be shifted to Al Ameen Medical College Hospital next day since ventilator facility was not available at the BLD Hospital, health official said in Bangalore.

The girl, who had also contracted pneumonia, died last night, they said, adding that her swab test confirmed the virus infection. Karnataka now accounts for 20 flu deaths.

In Nashik, Purva Amol Joshi (23), who was pregnant, and Deepali Shinde (20) died yesterday at the Nashik Civil Hospital, A D Bhalsingh, a surgeon, said. Both the victims were local residents.

He said reports from Pune’s National Institute of Virology had confirmed that they were suffering from flu.

With three deaths, the countrywide toll has risen to 88. Maharashtra now accounts for 46 fatalities– 25 in Pune, nine in Mumbai, seven in Nashik, two in Aurangabad and one each in Dhule and Latur.

20 people have died in Karnataka, 7 in Gujarat, three each in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, two in Uttarakhand and one each in Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan and Haryana.

Meanwhile, 177 fresh swine flu cases were reported across the country taking the number of those infected with the virus to 3273, health ministry officials said in Delhi.