A 54-year-old woman from Coimbatore who died on Thursday at the Coimbatore Government Hospital, has been suspected to have succumbed to swine flu.
Shanti, a resident of Poomarket neighborhood had been admitted to a private hospital for the past week with high grade fever. Doctors allegedly suspected that she had contracted swine flu and had sent her samples for investigations. She was shifted to the government hospital on Thursday evening, even as her condition worsened, and succumbed to her illness at around 7.45pm.
“She was brought in a very weak state, and was not very responsive. We were told by those who accompanied her to the hospital that she had been receiving treatment for swine flu at the other hospital, but we do not have any reports to confirm her diagnosis,” said Dr Ashokan, Dean of Coimbatore Government Medical College and Hospital.
Shanti’s condition was aggravated by an underlying condition of diabetes and uncontrolled hypertension, which doctors suspect resulted in a rapid decline in overall health. She also had been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which may have further worsened her health.
Swine flu (influenza), or H1N1, is a disease caused by a strain of the influenza A virus and was noted to have been initially transmitted to humans from pigs, which are the primary hosts. Person to person transmission of the disease is the result of contact with infected air droplets. Symptoms of swine flu include cough, fever, sore throat, headache, nausea, and vomiting. People may also present with chills and severe myalgia (fatigue). Diagnosis is done by examination of the individual along with lab investigations which will confirm the presence of the virus. A throat swab and culture will determine whether a person is indeed suffering from swine flu.
A worldwide outbreak of the flu in 2009 led to health officials deeming the crisis a pandemic. Seasonally, it is seen each year during the rainfall periods in particular. A vaccine is available against the flu, which those in contact or at risk of exposure to an infected person (namely doctors and other medical personnel) have been advised to take the vaccine as a precaution.