MULTAN: Three more patients of swine flu (N1H1) infection were admitted to the city’s hospitals on Friday.

The health department officials confirmed the death of one patient due to the disease.

Nasreen, a resident of Jamalpura, Beroon Daulat Gate, has been admitted to the Nishtar Hospital after initial tests confirmed that she is suffering from swine flu. Nasreen is the elder sister of Humaira who died of the disease on Thursday night.

District Coordinator for Prevention and Control Program of Epidemics Dr Attaur Rehman Khan said the tests of the entire family of Humaira were conducted on Friday after her death and swine flu symptoms were found in Nasreen.

He said the patient was immediately got admitted to the hospital and shifted to the isolation room. He said initial results of tests confirmed that she was suffering from the disease; however, the samples had been dispatched to the National Institute of Health Islamabad for confirmation.

He said two more suspected patients of N1H1 infection from Khanewal and Dera Ghazi Khan had been admitted to a private hospital. He said three teams had been sent to the private hospital and the patients’ samples had been sent to Islamabad. He identified the patients as Ghulam Sakina and Mahmood.

He said the teams of health and livestock departments collected the samples of poultry shops from Daulat Gate area.

In all, six people have been tested positive. They are Humaira, her sister Sumaira, Farah, 30, a resident of Makwal Kalan, Taunsa Sharif tehsil of Dera Ghazi Khan, Dr Saeed, 45, of Millat Road, Pir Khurshid Colony, Ghulam Sakina of Dera Ghazi Khan and Mahmood of Khanewal.

Officials are still finding the cause of the disease in Multan as there is no travel history of Humaira or any other member of her family. They haven’t kept pets.

They believe that the disease was transmitted to Farah, the first patient to have been tested positive and who is being treated at the Nishtar Hospital, from poultry as her husband is a pig hunter.

“Dr Saeed transmitted disease from Farah but now he has been recovered,” said Dr Khan. He said the other staff providing treatment to Farah was tested negative.

He said there were three genera of flu viruses that cause human flu -- influenza A, B and C.

“Influenza A is common in pigs but influenza C is rare. They infect both humans and pigs but do not infect birds. Influenza B has not been reported in pigs. There are some subtypes of influenza A. They are H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2 and H2N3. In pigs three subtypes of influenza are most common strains worldwide,” he said.

He said “the most common way the humans catch swine flu is through contact with infected pigs and infected humans too.”

He said people could protect themselves from the disease by avoiding handshake and hugging a person who is suffering from fever, cold or cough, washing hands regularly with soap, trying to manage the stress, getting plenty of sleep, not getting close to the people who are sick, avoid going to crowded places, consume plenty of liquids and intake of good balanced diet.