Two swine flu deaths in Orissa

Swine flu claimed its first victims in Orissa this year with a woman and a man succumbing to the disease in private hospitals in Bhubaneswar, officials said here today.

Swine flu claimed its first victims in Orissa this year with a woman and a man succumbing to the disease in private hospitals in Bhubaneswar, officials said here on Monday.

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A 56-year-old woman, a resident of Sailashri Vihar locality here, who was admitted to the Apollo Hospital on July 29 with complaints of severe cold, high fever and chest pain, died this morning, hospital sources said.

Swab samples sent to the Regional Medical Research Centre here on July 30 confirmed swine flu, the sources said.

A 50-year-old man belonging to Tomando area near here died of the disease at the Aditya Care hospital here last night, the hospital's medical superintendent P K Mishra said.

The patient, admitted to the hospital on July 25 with fever and lungs congestion, subsequently developed pneumonia and his swab sample tested positive for swine flu.

Last year, one person had died of swine flu in Rourkela.

Steps had been taken to deal with the situation and there was adequate stock of Tamiflu medicine, Health minister Prasanna Acharya said.

Six of the ten samples examined in the state so far this year had tested positive.