Swine Flu: India toll at 17, Pune accounted for 10

PUNE: Pune on Wednesday looked deserted as 3 more died of the H1N1 virus. The shops were empty, roads deserted, and city buses had very few passengers in the wake of a seven-day shutdown of schools and three-day shutdown of theatres from Tuesday. Of the 17 deaths, Pune accounted for 10 from the dreaded virus.

MS Devanikar, additional commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation, said, ���We have increased the frequency of garbage collection from the city even though there were no instances of garbage pile-ups. We are also fumigating areas where swine flu patients are reported to be positive.���

The city administration had also issued directives to people to stay indoors as far as possible. Hotels and restaurants have also seen a significant drop in sales from Sunday.

The administration has also shut down some commercial establishments around residential areas where people have tested positive and near the Naidu Hospital for Communicable Diseases. The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), one of Pune���s landmarks, has also been closed for a week.

Eight people died after contracting the swine flu virus in the past 24 hours in Pune. Most of these patients also had secondary complications which reduced their chances of recovery. They all died at the Sassoon Hospital, which has been handling very serious cases of swine flu. At least, four patients continued to be in a serious condition at the hospital.

A 48-year-old bus driver, a 50-year-old woman and a schoolboy were among those who succumbed to swine flu in Maharashtra on Wednesday, taking India���s death toll to 17 within 10 days of its first fatality.

Meanwhile, Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard, the only wholesale fruit and vegetable market in the city has decided to shut all shops for three days starting Thursday in a bid to avoid mass gatherings.

Shivlal Bhosale, chairman of the wholesale traders association at the market said, ���Everyday over 25,000 people from the city come to buy fruits and vegetables in the market. The reach of the virus will be widespread if it enters here. The market will be open on Thursday morning, only to dispose existing stocks and will be closed for the following three days.���

Gautam Shelar died of swine flu on Wednesday afternoon at Pune���s Sassoon Hospital, which registered fifth death of the day from the H1N1 virus since early Wednesday morning. Mr Shelar was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition three-four days ago, a Maharashtra Swine Flu Control Room official said. For Pune, that has recorded the highest number of H1N1 deaths in the country, Mr Shelar was the tenth victim. Fifty-year-old Nita Meghani was the country���s sixteenth swine flu victim.

She was admitted to the Sassoon Hospital in a critical condition four days ago and died on Wednesday afternoon. Babu Genu Kuland, a school student, died in the hospital the same morning. A resident of Pimpri town, Babu was hospitalised three days ago in a serious condition. Another Pimpri resident, Sanjay Mistry, 35, too died in the same hospital early on Wednesday. He was hospitalised on Sunday in a critical condition and was put on a ventilator. Barely hours after Mr Mistry succumbed to the influenza A (H1N1) infection, Shravani Deshpande, 29, died of the same disease.

Rakesh Gargunde, a medico in Nashik Civil Hospital, also succumbed to swine flu around 3 am, said civil surgeon AD Bhal Singh. Mr Gargunde was admitted to hospital in an unconscious state two days ago and put on a ventilator. The test report confirming that he had swine flu was received by the hospital late on Tuesday night.