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Swine flu patient dies in Peshawar

By Akhtar Amin

PESHAWAR: An Afghan woman, who was under treatment at a Peshawar hospital, died of swine flu (H1N1) on Saturday.

The 40-year-old Latifa Bibi from Herat province of Afghanistan was admitted four days back at private North West Hospital and Research Centre Hayatabad with chest problem.

NWFP Health Department confirmed the death of the Afghan woman from swine flu, saying her relatives took back her body to Afghanistan for burial.

Provincial Health Services Director General (DG) Dr Fazal Mahmood said that three days back, the doctors had sent her blood samples to National Institute of Health (NIH) and on Friday, they received the test results diagnosing swine flu (H1N1).

He said that the condition of the woman deteriorated after she was hospitalised. The doctors requested the management of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) to examine the ailing woman observing symptoms of swine flu in her.

The public health department, he said, sent a team of doctors to the private health facility to get her blood samples. The hospital management told the team that they had already sent the samples to NIH.

“The hospital management received the report saying that she was tested positive for swine flu (H1N1),” said the DG health.

He said that the health department immediately sent a team of doctors to the hospital and educated the staff about all the precautionary steps to prevent the spread of the disease.

The DG health said the patient, who was in intensive care unit (ICU), was shifted to an isolated ward. The hospital’s central air-conditioning system was also switched off as it could cause the spread of the pandemic virus, said the official and added that all required medicines for the disease were also provided to the hospital.

He said that the health department had taken precautionary steps and an area with four rooms had been apportioned for such patients at the HMC. The official said that the health department had sufficient medicines to cope with any epidemic situation in the province.

Dr Fazal Mahmood said it was the first case reported in the NWFP and the patient had come from neighbouring Afghanistan. He said in Afghanistan the cases of swine flu were regularly reported.

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