One dies of suspected swine flu

Guntur: Kareemullah (38), a resident of Mangalagiri town, died of suspected swine flu at the Guntur General Hospital in the city on Friday, but it came to light on Saturday.

He was suffering from cold, fever and body pains for the past 10 days. A private doctor treated him in Mangalagiri town. When he was not recovered, his family members admitted him to the GGH where he died on Friday while undergoing treament.

District medical and health officer Dr T Ramesh said: “According to medical reports, Kareemullah died of respiratory failure and pneumonia. So far 17 swine flu cases were reported, but they recovered. We have already opened a special ward at the GGH to provide treatment to the patients suffering from swine flu. There are two virology labs to confirm the swine flu. One is in Guntur another one in Tirupati. We are getting reports from the private hospitals.”

Following the instructions of District Collector Kona Sasidhar, the local bodies have taken steps to improve sanitation and launched ‘Domalapai Dandayatra’ to check spread of dengue and viral fevers in the district.