Differing Strain

Doctors are divided over the reason behind the summer outbreak of swine flu

- Anuradha Varanasi

The parents of 18-month-old Rakib are still reeling under the shock of losing their son to swine flu on April 28. What started as fever and vomiting got worse with time, and his family soon had to admit him to a private hospital in Mumbai. But when there was no improvement in his condition, they shifted him to another hospital where he was directly admitted to the ICU. “However, we were unhappy with the treatment being provided and then got him admitted to the civic-run Kasturba hospital,” says Tanveer Ansari, Rakib’s father.

Three days after being admitted to the hospital, where he tested positive for swine flu and had to be put on ventilator support, Rakib succumbed to the influenza virus that causes H1N1 or swine flu. “The doctors at Kasturba hospital tried their best to save my son and we were satisfied with the treatment he received. But unfortunately, he could not be saved,” says Nuzad, the mother.

According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities, this was the first swine flu death in Mumbai in the last two years. But the numbers are higher in other parts of Maharashtra. Since this January, 844 patients have tested positive for H1N1 and 165 deaths have been reported so far, says Dr Pradeep Awate, state survey epidemics officer. Most of these patients are from Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and Ahmednagar. Mumbai, on the other hand, had 18 cases in the last two months, according to BMC’s epidemiologist Dr Mini Khetrapal.