Woman dies of H1N1, alert in Kerala

A 19-year-old girl has died of swine flu in Kerala, taking the death toll due to the viral infection in the state to seven in the last one month, prompting the health department to issue an alert.

Athira Shiju, a post-natal patient under treatment for bilateral pneumonia at a private medical college hospital at Venjaramood in the district died yesterday, health department sources said.

With this, the death toll in the state since the outbreak of the H1N1 last year rose to 44, Dr Amar, nodal officer for H1N1 in the health department said.,

"Both the government and private hospitals have been alerted and doctors are being updated on how to tackle the situation," he said. The infection, which was mostly found among people coming from abroad in its earlier phase, was now community spread following which we have stepped up the vigilance, he said.

Kerala had urged the Centre to provide 35,000 to 45,000 doses of vaccine this year, since 80 per cent of the vaccine allotted to the state had been utilised.

Right now there are five positive cases in the state-- two in Kannur district and one each in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha. Also, 21 persons are quarantined in hospitals and 20 under home quarantine. Throat swabs of 20 suspected patients have been sent for testing.