10 more deaths,Bangalore worst

Two deaths were reported in Delhi and one each in Mumbai and Ahmedabad,pushing the nationwide toll up by 10 — the most on a single day since the outbreak — to 38. But the Health Ministry death toll released earlier in the day was 36.

“So far,in most of the cases the deaths have been due to delay in treatment or some underlined diseases,” said Dr V M Katoch,DG of ICMR,which is mapping each death.

In Bangalore,swab tests of a 40-year-old woman,Kalpana,and a 43-year-old man,Edward David,who died at the M S Ramaiah Hospital and the Shifa Hospital respectively on August 15 and August 17,were confirmed H1N1 positive by the NIMHANS Department of Virology.

Both reported for treatment nearly five days after developing symptoms and were admitted for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS),said Dr Usha Vasunkar,Director,Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department.

Two other women — Krishnaveni,45 and N Prema,23 — who died at the Columbia Asia Hospital and the Vydehi Hospital respectively — also tested positive. Krishnaveni died on August 17,Prema on August 16. Karnataka Joint Director for Communicable Diseases,Dr T S Cheluvaraju,said both suffered from ARDS and had been ill for seven to eight days. The fifth death is of Ratna Prabha,36,at the Baptist Hospital on Thursday,two days after being admitted with ARDS.

In Mumbai,a 35-year-old Ghatkopar man,Dattatray Gawde,who was suffering from ARDS and was a diabetic,died at Kasturba Hospital on Thursday,a day after he tested positive for H1N1. “He had a travel history to Pune about two weeks back,” said Dr Rajeev Singh of Satyam Nursing Home,where Gawde had gone for check-up on August 18 before being shifted to Kasturba same day. The death toll in Mumbai now is four.

In Pune,Dipti Pawar,27,died at Sassoon Hospital. She was also suffering from ARDS. She was admitted on August 16 and was on artificial ventilation,District Collector Chandrakant Dalvi said.

The toll in Gujarat meanwhile went up to five,with the death of a 25-year-old from Gandhinagar,Gautam Prajapati,at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital,a few hours after he tested H1N1 positive.  

Inputs from Pune and Ahmedabad