Swine flu deaths continued unabated with two girls and a 63-year-old woman today succumbing to the deadly virus, taking the countrywide toll to 10 even as the Centre asked the states to take urgent steps to tackle the pandemic.
Vadodra in Gujarat reported its first flu victim when a seven-year-old girl, Arya Borde, who was in a critical condition, died due to the viral disease, Sir Sayajirao Gaeikwad Hospital Medical Superintendent Atul Saxena said.
"She was on ventilator support since August 7.... The result of H1N1 test was confirmed on August 8. She became critical today morning and passed away at 12.30 hours," Principal Secretary (Health) Ravi Saxena said.
In Pune, the worst hit city in Maharashtra, 13-year-old Shruti Gawade, a student of Ahilyadevi school, died due to the virus infection. She had been kept on ventilator since August 7 at government-owned Sassoon hospital where she was brought from a private hospital in a critical condition, said Pandurang Pawar, Medical Superintendent of Sassoon hospital.
Sayeeda Dorheewala, a 63-year-old woman, died in a private hospital at Byculla in South Mumbai as a result of swine flu. The woman, who was from Mumbra in Thane district, had been hsopitalised with fever in Noor hospital on August 6 and had tested positive along with other complications, according to the Municipal Coporation of greater Mumbai.
With the swine flu deaths on the rise, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has spoken to 22 chief ministers informing them of the steps being taken by the Centre to tackle the spread of the disease and the guidelines framed for allowing private labs and hospital to conduct tests and treat suspected cases.