Kalyani Patil, former mayor of Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), succumbed to H1N1 at Jupiter Hospital in Thane on Tuesday. According to doctors, Patil was brought to the hospital on August 14 with severe breathlessness and remained on ventilator support throughout. She suffered a multi-organ failure, leading to her death.
“She had taken treatment locally for her symptoms and was brought to Jupiter Hospital only after she developed breathlessness,” said chest physician, Dr. Alpa Dalal. Patil was put on oseltamivir, the drug that works against H1N1, within an hour of hospitalisation. Her condition remained critical due to pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
“She was managed by a team of chest specialists, intensive care specialists and nephrologists. But despite their efforts, she succumbed to multi-organ failure and septic shock on Tuesday afternoon,” said a hospital statement.
H1N1 is an airborne respiratory disease caused by the type-A influenza virus. Its symptoms are nasal congestion, sore throat, high-grade fever, cough, breathlessness, body ache, vomiting and diarrhoea. Medical experts say H1N1 becomes fatal in patients who have co-morbid conditions or receive delayed treatment.