Swine flu claimed one more life in Telangana, taking the toll to five this month, after a 10-month-old baby died in the state-run Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.
The child has been identified as a resident of Bibinagar in Yadadri district, who was admitted to hospital on January 19 and was on ventilator and undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital.
With this, the death toll has gone up to 12 since August 2016.
“We kept the baby boy on ventilator, but he could not survive. He died two days ago,“ said Dr J V Reddy , superintendent of Gandhi Hospital told Times of India.
All deaths this month were reported from Gandhi Hospital, the state's nodal centre for swine flu.
Before this, on Tuesday, Lakshman, 31, of Nagarkurnool district died at the Hospital.
Though he died while undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital's swine flu ward, official sources claimed that his swab sample report released by Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) showed H1N1 negative.
“He died from some other cause, but not swine flu. We are investigating the cause of death,” the superintendent told TOI.
It was reported that there are four more suspects and two H1N1 positive patients who are undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital, however, most of the patients still prefer private hospitals for treatment.
Since the start of January, of the nearly 750 swab samples tested by the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), over 100 cases were found to be H1N1 positive, including 6-8 found positive on Friday.
As the swine flu spreads in Telangana, one of victims has been identified as deputy chief minister (revenue) Mohammed Mahmood Ali, who tested positive for the disease three days back.
Mahmood Ali has been undergoing treatment at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences.
Meanwhile, the health minister Dr C Laxma Reddy told The New Indian Express that people should not panic as the situation is under control.