Swine flu death toll mounts to 4 in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: With one person succumbing to H1N1 virus today, the number of deaths due to swine flu in the State has gone up to 4.

A woman from Jagatsinghpur district, identified as Shanta Priya Das (79) died today while undergoing treatment at private hospital in Odisha capital.

Meanwhile, the number of affected persons increased to 71 with 12 fresh cases being reported on Wednesday.

Of the 27 swab samples, 12 were tested positive for the H1N1 virus at the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) here on Tuesday, official sources said.

Of these 12, seven are male and five female.

So far, of the 257 samples from the state that were sent for testing, 71 were found positive for the H1N1 virus.

Notably, the state government has directed the hospitals to create isolated wards for the swine flu patients.

In a related development, Odisha government has directed all chief district medical officers (CDMOs) to conduct special Gram Sabha in each gram panchayats on August 15 to spread awareness on health issues in the community.

Official sources said leaflets, posters banners will be distributed on health issues like malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, jaundice, Japanese encephalitis and swine flu.

ASHA, ANM and health supervisors will read out message of chief minister to sensitise the people on the diseases during the Gram Sabha.