Number of swine flu deaths decreases, says health department

Forty-four-year-old Tukaram Kandhare from Katraj was suffering from flu like symptoms for a while before he turned breathless and was admitted to Sassoon Hospital. “The minute he was put on artificial ventilation, the family hoped he would survive the swine flu attack,” recalled Dr P S Pawar, medical superintendent of Sassoon Hospital. He did and was discharged on August 8 this year.

So was 22-year-old Manisha Naphade who was rushed from Jalgaon to Sassoon’s ICU for swine flu treatment. “She was put on artificial ventilation and was discharged on August 28,” said her husband Ramesh.,

Even as swine flu deaths continue to make news, according to the figures released by the health department, the number of deaths due to swine flu has decreased in the last month.

Statistics showed that the number of deaths has decreased. For instance, from August 9 to 15, there were 27 deaths and 268 positive patients, from August 16 to 22, there were 19 deaths and 243 positive patients and from August 23 to 29, there were 15 deaths and 135 patients positive with H1N1 virus. The number of schoolchildren with the infection too has decreased in the same period from 99, 63 to 46.