THE DEATH of a 60-year-old woman on Thursday marked the 18th death due to swine flu in Pune since January 1, this year . The death of a one-year-old boy from Chikhali due to H1N1 virus marked the seventh death according to Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation authorities. The woman, who breathed her last at a city hospital, was a resident of Kothrud and was admitted to the hospital for the past few days and had tested positive for the dreaded H1N1 virus on March 20. The one-year-old boy from Chikhali died on March 22 at Y C M hospital, Pimpri. Since the beginning of the year, there has been a spike in the number of cases of suspected swine flu in Pune. In the latest case, the patient was admitted to the hospital on March 17 with complaints of bodyache, fever, cold and breathlessness. Her throat swab was collected on March 19 and sent to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) where it was confirmed to be a case of swine flu on March 20. As per the hospital records, the patient had a co-morbid condition of hyperthyroidism and was under treatment since last one year. While 18 deaths due to swine flu have been reported, 14 of them were not residents of Pune and had contracted the illness outside the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits. Since the beginning of this year, 1,99,113 people have been screened for swine flu and 2,495 suspected patients were administered Tamiflu. Of the 538 people whose throat swab was collected 109 were found positive. 28 positive patients are admitted in the hospital of which 11 are under ventilator. On Wednesday, corporators had raised the issue during the general body of the PMC and asked for immediate action to prevent the spread of the infection. For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now

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