Two die of swine flu, nationwide toll rises to 76

New Delhi/Bangalore, Aug 25 (PTI) Swine flu deaths
continued unabated with a 44-year-old woman and a 28-year-old
man succumbing to the virus in national capital Delhi and
Bangalore, pushing the pandemic toll to 76 as 137 more
contracted the infection across the country.

A resident of Faridabad, Usha Jain, who had tested
positive for flu, passed away this morning in government-run
RML Hospital, its Medical Superintendent N K Chaturvedi said.
This is the third flu death in Delhi.

"Her condition was very critical from day one of her
admission to the hospital. She had suffered three cardiac
arrests and her BP could not be maintained at the normal level
despite medication," he said.

Jain, who suffered from fever, breathlessness and joint
pain, was admitted to the hospital on August 21. She was
immediately shifted to the ICU and put on a ventilator.

"She had not taken any medication even after eight days
of showing the symptoms. She went to a private hospital for
medication and that too in the last minute when her condition
had worsened," Chaturvedi said.

In Bangalore (capital of southern state Karnataka),
Siddarraju, who was admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of
Chest Diseases on August 21, was in a critical condition and
died because of the disease on Sunday night, health officials
said today. He had also tested positive for chikungunya, they
said.

As many as 137 fresh cases of swine flu were reported
from various states since Sunday evening taking the total
number of those afflicted by the virus to 2,909, Union Health
Ministry officials said in Delhi.

With the two deaths, the flu toll across the country has
mounted to 76.

Of the fatalities, western state Maharashtra accounts
for 40 -- 23 in Pune, eight in Mumbai, five in Nashik, two in
Aurangabad and one each in Dhule and Latur.

15 people have died in Karnataka, seven in Gujarat, three
each in Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Delhi and one each in
Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana. PTI Team
PMR