Kerala has reported the season's first death due to H1N1. The 27-year-old pregnant lady passed away on Friday, becoming the first victim of the epidemic.
Simi Mol, wife of Shibu, belongs to the Maranadu region in Kollam district of Kerala. She was first taken to the hospital on 26 May with high fever and cold and was reportedly given Oseltamivir, the antiviral drug that helps slow down the spread of influenza, from the very next day onwards.
Her throat swab was sent for testing on 28 May but died on Friday due to the illness. Their immune compromised state makes pregnant and ante-natal women at greater risks from H1N1.
At least 10 cases of H1N1 positive have been reported from across the state. The death, even ahead of the onset of the southwest monsoon, has scared the entire community as various types of viral fever are already rampant in the state. The public health division is finding tough to handle hundreds of different fever cases reported from across the state.
The state has reported over 60 dengue cases already in the last two days alone, according to the Health Department. Around 1,500 dengue cases were reported from the state and nine has died this year.
Many H1N1 positive cases and deaths have already been reported from different parts of the country with most of the cases reported from the states of Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajastan and Punjab. The current outbreak is not regarded as worrisome as the one that was rampant during 2009-2010 periods. Since then, a series of outbreaks during August-October 2010, May to July 2011, March-October 2012, and January-February 2013 had been reported across the country, according to the health ministry.
While declaring the pandemic to be over in 2010, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had warned that the H1N1 virus would continue to circulate as a seasonal influenza virus for few more years. The health officials in the country are on a look out for Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) because of the reports of various viral fevers and also because of the new strain of coronavirus MERS-CoV currently spreading around the world.
