With two more deaths — one each from Ahmednagar district and Velha taluka in Pune — the core committee that meets daily under the leadership of Additional Chief Secretary (health) Sharvari Gokhale, has now shifted its focus to strengthening the rural infrastructure. Home visits will be made in cases where women are pregnant.

Twenty-nine-year-old Vaishali Chorage, who was in her fifth month of pregnancy from Winjar, Velha taluka had swine flu symptoms and was treated at Bharati and Navale hospitals. She was admitted to Sassoon General Hospital on October 6 after she turned critical and was put on ventilator. She, however, succumbed to viral complications on October 9, medical superintendent Dr P S Pawar said.

Thirty-five-year-old Kavita Kishore Padale from Pathardi in Ahmednagar was admitted on October 5 with a history of fever and cough for five days. She was referred to Sassoon General Hospital from the civil hospital at Ahmednagar. She died on October 7. At present a total of 17 patients are admitted in the ICU of the hospital with six of them on artificial ventilation. Most are from rural areas.

Dr Uddhav Gavhande, Deputy Director of Health said that as many as 22 deaths were reported from the rural areas and there was lack of awareness about administering tamiflu at an early stage. Now home visits will be made by the auxillary midnursing wife in each village to check on the number of pregnant women.

A total of 23 places have been identified as throat swab collection centers while 96 primary health centers and 24 rural hospitals will function as screening and treatment centers. Health officials in Pimpri Chinchwad – where nine deaths have occurred due to swine flu- have been told to instruct the private practitioners to start early treatment, Gawhande said. Tamiflu is now available at 120 places in the rural areas, he added.

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