Mumbai: 18-month-old boy first swine flu fatality of 2017

The death of an 18-month-old boy at Kasturba Hospital on April 25 has been recorded as the first swine flu-related death in the city this year. The civic body’s health department has taken up measures to monitor the health of those living in and around the baby’s house in Ambedkar Nagar over the next 10 days.

According to sources, the child first showed symptoms on April 11 and his parents took him to Dawood Hospital in Byculla on April 18. The child was later taken to Noor Hospital on Mohammad Ali Road. “The baby showed initial signs of swine flu and he was vomiting and had fever. His condition continued to worsen and he was breathless by the time he was taken to Noor Hospital. On April 25, he was brought to Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokli and put on ventilator support,” said an official, adding that the cause of the boy’s death has been identified as sepsis in a case of H1N1 virus. Following the death, BMC’s health department officials have taken up an inspection drive of 765 houses in the area where the child lived. “We covered 3,725 people but did not find anyone else who displayed similar symptoms. We have also screened the seven family members of the boy and found to be asymptomatic as well,” an official said.

Health officials will keep a close watch on people living close to Ambedkar Nagar to check if anyone displays any swine flu-related symptom.

Between January and April 30, 21 positive cases of swine flu have been identified in the city.