11-yr-old dies of suspected swine flu in city

An 11-year-old boy died of suspected swine flu infection at the isolation ward of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMC) on early Friday morning.
The boy, a resident of Mahal area of the city, is said to have been suffering from several ailments like viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome, was admitted to a private hospital for four days before being referred to GMC on Thursday.
It was the trouble in breathing that made the doctors consider him as a suspected case of swine flu. He was brought to the GMC at 5 pm on Thursday and immediately admitted to the isolation ward. Despite the necessary treatment, the boy died in the wee hours of Friday.
Meanwhile, GMC doctors collected swabs from him and sent the same to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, for tests on Friday. The test report is expected in a couple of days and till then the suspense surrounding the reason’s for the child’s death would continue.
A 63-year-old woman, who was initially considered as the first victim of swine flu in the city, till her reports ruled out H1N1 virus as a reason for her death.