Swine flu claims first life in Lucknow

LUCKNOW: The first swine flu death in the city this year occurred in January. But it was disclosed by the health department on Monday, more than 40 days later, after swine flu was confirmed as the cause in the patient's death audit report .



The patient was a 70-year-old woman, a resident of Bada Barha in Alambagh. She had tested positive for influenza A H1N1 on January 7 and died a few hours later at a private hospital in the city.

The woman was the second swine flu patient from the city this year and had been admitted to the hospital on January 4. She was initially diagnosed with Hepatitis C. She had also suffered a hip fracture on December 17 and underwent a surgery. The woman then developed chest infection and complained of difficulty in breathing post surgery from December 28.

She was then admitted on January 4, put on ventilator support on January 5 and her swab sample was collected for swine flu testing. It was then sent to SGPGI for confirmation. On January 7, as per the records available with the health department, she was confirmed swine flu positive. As per her discharge summary from the hospital, she breathed her last at 7:45 pm on January 7.