Hyderabad: A 55-year old male patient from Yakutpura died due to H1N1 in a private hospital taking the toll to 26 deaths in Telangana. The patient died on January 24 but his blood samples tested positive only on January 25.

A senior health officer said, “He was not given the H1N1 treatment at all. Either the blood samples were taken late or the Institute of Preventive Medicine had not tested the sample on the day it was sent.”

Of late, there have been complaints that due to the increasing number of samples coming to IPM both in the morning and evening, some samples are being left out and their testing is being done after a day.

The deceased patient’s 50-year-old wife has also been admitted in the same hospital and is undergoing treatment. Her blood sample reports are awaited and before that the H1N1 treatment cannot be started.

Meanwhile, a 44-year old group captain from Dundigal has been confirmed with H1N1 and is undergoing treatment at Air Force hospital. The officer is said to be recovering.
Despite the number of cases increasing, the director of Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences Dr L. Narendranath stated that H1N1 was under control.

New health minister C. Laxma Reddy visited Gandhi Hospital and interacted with the patients in the swine flu ward. The minister was upset with the unhygienic conditions in the toilets and also the cleanliness aspect in the wards.

According to a doctor, “He wanted the hospital to maintain high standards of cleanliness like those in corporate hospitals.”

Meanwhile, a 40-year-old from Nellore, who had tested positive for H1N1, died in the Gandhi Hospital on January 25. The patient was admitted to Gandhi Hospital on January 22 and was undergoing treatment.

His condition deteriorated on January 25 and he was declared dead. The district medical and health officers in Nellore have been sent the reports of the case.

Meanwhile, in Narrawada, the native village of the deceased, swine flu scare peaked on Monday. When the relatives of the deceased took his body to the village on Monday to perform the last rites, villagers objec-ted and opposed them fearing spread of the virus in the village.

The elders convinced the relatives to perform the last rites outside the village. After some hesitation, the deceased’s relatives and carried out the cremation on the outskirts of the village.