A 78-year-old man from Chanapora Srinagar lost his battle to swine flu Thursday at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura taking the death toll since October to 30.
The elderly man was admitted at SKIMS on January 25 and was being treated in the isolation ward.
According to doctors, he was diagnosed with viral pneumonia and died at 5:20 pm Thursday.
Public Relation Officer (PRO) SKIMS said two more patients including a 22-year-old girl from south Kashmir’s Anantnag district died on January 29.
With the three fresh deaths, the death toll in the valley due to H1N1 influenza has risen to 30 this season.
“A total of 146 such cases were registered at SKIMS of which 115 were discharged after treatment,” the PRO said. “Currently, two H1N1 patients, one from Nawab Bazar Srinagar and another of Bandipora are admitted.”
The first death of this season was reported on October 23, 2017.
Interim Director, SKIMS, Dr Omar Javid Shah told Kashmir Post that the influenza was coming down slightly.
“Compared to other states, it isn’t that rampant in Kashmir,” he said. “We are in the middle winters and can predict that the cases may rise until March but there is no need to worry.”
Dr Shah said sufficient supplies of vaccines, masks, and Tamiflu tablets were available at SKIMS.
“This season H1N1 started early in October but last year it began in December,” he said. “In 2017, the cases increased in the month of February.”
In November last year, SKIMS authorities predicted a rise in influenza cases due to the prevailing cold weather condition in the Valley.
In 2010, World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the H1N1 influenza virus had moved into the post-pandemic period.
Another death due to swine flu at SKIMS, toll 30
