Two swine flu deaths in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR - A 56-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man died of swine flu here Monday - the first deaths in Orissa due to the pandemic H1N1 virus this year, a senior health official said.

“The woman from city’s Sailashree Vihar area tested positive for swine flu July 30. She was kept on ventilator at a private hospital where she succumbed to the illness,” Bikash Patnaik, joint director in the state health directorate, told IANS.

The man from Tomando area, of the city died of the disease at another private hospital, he said.

There were at least four other patients who tested positive for the H1N1 virus during the last two weeks. Of them, three have been discharged from the hospitals Monday, he said.

The remaining patient is also out of danger and undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, he said.

India reported its first swine flu death in August last year, while the first case was recorded on May 16, 2009.