Kerala - Thrissur   

Suspected swine flu patients in critical condition

Thrissur: Four suspected swine flu patients, including a pregnant woman, admitted to various city hospitals, are in a critical condition, according to district medical office sources.

While three of them were put on ventilator, the fourth was undergoing treatment in a district hospital.

They were admitted with flu-like symptoms and had developed pneumonia, the DMO sources said.

While the district has been witnessing more and more critical cases of swine flu, lack of ventilator facility in government hospitals was worrying health officials.

Though the Thrissur Medical College Hospital has four ventilators, none of them is functional.

A patient suffering from some other ailment has already been put on the only ventilator available at the district hospital. Some of the private hospitals in the city have ventilators, but not all can afford the facility.

The first swine flu death in Thrissur district was recorded on last Friday, when a 21-year-old pregnant woman who tested positive succumbed to the virus at a private hospital.

Health officials had stepped up preventive measures against the disease in the district.

Two schools in the district have been kept under observation.

Meanwhile, 11 suspected cases of A (HINI) influenza were reported in the district on Wednesday. Throat and nasal swabs of all cases were sent for test.

Results of seven cases are awaited.

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