With the dengue virus scare just ended, the swine flu incidence have flared up in the city, as one, Iftikharullah, resident of North Nazimabad, has died of the disease on Saturday night at a local hospital.
Head, Swine Flue Surveillance Cell, Sindh, Dr Suresh Kumar told Business Recorder on Sunday that 12 cases of swine flu have been reported so far, out of which 11 were reported in Karachi and one in Sukkur.
Dr Kumar said that a patient died on the night of December 31. He said the symptoms of swine flu are similar to other diseases so people don't care initially about the diseases. Many people who have strong immune system don't take the symptoms seriously and they can become victim of the virus due to their carelessness, he added.
He said the symptoms of swine flu are cough, fever, pain in body and respiratory problem, which are common. The patient, who died of the flu, was admitted on Wednesday, December 29, to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, who died on Friday, December 31. He was brought to the hospital with the complaints of cough, flue and breathing problem. The virus was diagnosed on January 1, 2011 after his death.
After the death of Iftikharullah, samples of 40 people who were in touch with him on various occasions during his illness, had been taken for test.
The provincial health department has established two surveillance cells, one in Civil Hospital Karachi and other in Hyderabad to monitor the cases of swine flu and collecting data. Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Human Rights Nadia Gabol has expressed concerns over the death of a man suffering Swine flue. She urged the concerned medical experts, social and welfare activists and media to play their role in prevention of swine flu cases. She said the directives have been issued to concerned authorities to make necessary arrangement for test and treatment of the patients.