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Kerala man tests negative for coronavirus, dies of pneumonia
Thiruvananthapuram: A 36-year-old man who returned from Malaysia with symptoms of flu and breathlessness died on Saturday, a day after he tested negative for the
Thiruvananthapuram: A 36-year-old man who returned from Malaysia with symptoms of flu and breathlessness died on Saturday, a day after he tested negative for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), doctors said. The man died of pneumonia and chest congestion, the doctors said, as they waited for the result of the test on a second sample.
The man, identified as Jainesh, had been working in Malaysia for the last three years, and landed in Cochin International airport on Thursday night. He was taken to the isolation ward at the Government Medical College Hospital the same night.
His body fluids tested negative for H1N1 (swine flu) and COVID-19 at the Virology Institute in Alappuzha. A second sample was sent to confirm that he indeed hadn’t been infected by the coronavirus, doctors said.
His admission at the Medical College Hospital triggered panic. Ernakulam district collector S Suhas called an emergency meeting on Friday after Jainesh was admitted to the isolation ward. Suhas also visited the ward and took stock of the situation. Doctors and medical staff had been relieved after Jainesh’s first report arrived.
“In preliminary investigations, we found he had developed acute pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. We also understood that he was diabetic. Blood sugar can flare up when there is an acute infection. We suspect he died of pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis, whereby the body cannot produce insulin,” said Dr Ganesh Mohanan, a senior doctor at the Medical College Hospital.
All three 2019-COVID cases in India were reported in Kerala among students who returned from China’s Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak. After the third case was reported. the state had declared a “medical calamity” last month and placed restrictions on large gatherings and excursions. The alert was later withdrawn.
However, the state later withdrew the “calamity” warning, after it successfully restricted the number of those affected by the virus to the three persons. Having learnt a lesson from the nipah outbreak two years ago, the state was on battle mode since the emergence of the very first case on Jan 30, enhancing surveillance and isolation mechanisms as well. All three persons were later discharged from the hospital.
