2 die due to H1N1, leptospirosis; BMC says it's well prepared

Mumbai, Aug 7: Two women from Mumbai's western suburbs have died after being infected with the H1N1 virus and leptospirosis respectively during the last two days.

According to a daily health report issued here by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) yesterday, a 25-year- old from suburban Borivali succumbed to H1N1 due to a delay of eight days in initiating the anti-viral treatment.

A 45-year-old woman from suburban Andheri died in the BMC-run Nair Hospital on August 5 due to leptospirosis, the BMC report said. According to BMC's report, five cases of leptospirosis and 60 cases of H1N1 were reported between August 1 to August 6, while 88 leptospirosis cases were reported from January 5 onwards until now in Mumbai, out of which 17 people lost their lives during that period.

During the period from January 5 till now, 2,089 H1N1 cases have been reported and 30 people have died so far, including the latest case of death, the BMC report said. However, BMC spokesperson Vijay Khabale said here today that it is "fully prepared" to tackle any public health threat.

He said that all possible efforts to curb all sorts of diseases were taken long ago and there is no need to panic. "Considering the city's population, it is a cumbersome task, but all preparation and planning have been executed well," he said.

"Almost all deaths occurred in cases where patients were admitted to private hospitals and then brought to our specialised hospitals only after their condition deteriorated. Had they been brought in during the early stages itself, we could have saved most of the lives," Khabale said.

PTI