09 August,2009 01:07 PM IST | | PTI
The condition of a 28-year-old swine flu patient admitted to a hospital here remains critical, hospital authorities said on Sunday.
"Sandeep Gaikwad, a resident of Chandivili is still critical and put on ventilator but is stable. He is being treated as per doctors' advise from Kasturba Hospital," Manager of HL Hiranandi Hospital Manish Joshi said.
Three persons have succumbed to swine flu u2013 two in Maharashtra and one in Gujarat - since yesterday. Fifty-three year-old Fehmida Panwala died at Kasturba Hospital (the main civic referral hospital) after being shifted from Lilavati Hospital, health officials said.
Pravin Patel (43) died of swine flu in Ahmedabad, while Sanjay Tukaram Kokre (42), a teacher from Kedgaon near Pune also succumbed to the virus last evening, the officials said.
Patel's wife is also admitted in the hospital and getting screened for the flu in Gujarat, they said.
Meanwhile, 14 positive H1N1 cases are undergoing treatment in Kasturba Hospital and 45 suspected cases are admitted till this morning, the Civic Disaster Management Cell said.
Earlier, 14-year-old school Reeda Shaikh died in Pune due to H1N1 making her the first victim of the virus in the country on August 3.
Civic health officials on Sunday once again appealed to people that they should make use of the helpline - 23083901 before getting admitted to any hospital for flu like problems.
"Many of them go to private hospital and then when they become serious, they are shifted to Kasturba Hospital, which is not good for them," a senior civic official said.
On the helpline, counselling is done for the patients and also given advise for home quarantine, screening and also admission when necessary, the official said.
"Citizens should not panic and if they have any throat infection, they should visit civic hospitals at the earliest," he said.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra government has set up two new screening-cum-isolation centres with ICU facilities in Siddharth Hospital, Goregaon in the Western suburbs and MT Agarwal Hospital at Mulund in Eastern suburbs.
Three more hospitals - Bhabha at Bandra, Bhagwati Hospital at Borivali and Rajawadi at Ghatkopar will be the screening centres and will not admit anyone.
The Dhirubhai Ambain International School in Bandra Kurla Complex has closed down its school for a week after one of the students tested positive for H1N1, the school sources said.
Similarly, JB Vacha School at Dadar has been closed for a week after a student was tested positive for H1N1.
