Kolkata : 80-year-old woman dies of swine flu, toll rises to 8

KOLKATA: An 80-year-old Maheshtala resident, Mukul Biswas, died of swine flu at AMRI Hospitals Salt Lake on Thursday, making it the eighth reported H1N1 death in the city this year. Doctors have dubbed the spate of unseasonal swine flu deaths ominous.


The resident of Putkhali in Maheshtala was first admitted to the hospital in February with fever and breathing distress. At that time she did not test positive for H1N1 and was subsequently discharged. But with her condition deteriorating, she was taken back to AMRI on March 19. This time, she tested positive for H1N1. “She was admitted last month with multiple complications, including breathing problems. But she did not test positive for swine flu. It was during her second hospitalization that she was detected with the virus,” said her son, Palash Biswas.

“Due to her age, her movements were restricted. She had fever and complained of breathlessness and body ache. She would have such a bad bout of coughing that it looked like she might choke. Lately, she showed lack of appetite. So, we readmitted her to hospital, when she tested positive for H1N1,” Palash said, pointing out that no one in the family or neighbourhood had had swine flu recently.

Worried about the high numbers of swine flu cases and deaths even before the onset of monsoon, medical experts pointed out that this was an unusual time for the disease to spread. They also seemed concerned that the virus was not confided to one locality. While one of the victims, a 10-month-old child, was from Beltala Road in Bhowanipore, another victim, a 62-year-old woman, was from Kestopur.