LAHORE: The death toll by H1N1 seasonal influenza in Punjab rose to 15 in the first three weeks of 2016 as another patient succumbed to the virus in Lahore on Monday.

Health Director General Dr Amjad Shahzad said Hameeda Bibi, 52, of Sahiwal had contracted virus from her native district and she died at the Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore.

He said the patient was shifted to the hospital where the clinical and diagnostic investigations confirmed that she had contracted the virus.

Dr Amjad said the disease had taken lives of 15 people in Punjab during the last three weeks and 41 others had tested positive for the virus.

One more dies; seven suspected patients surface in Lahore

The suspected cases of the H1N1 continued surfacing at an alarming rate as seven more patients were rushed to the various government hospitals of the provincial capital with the same symptoms.

Three children were also taken to the Children’s Hospital where they were provided treatment in a private room. One of them was said to be the baby of a senior police officer whose mother had also developed the same virus.

Some medical experts said the cases of H1N1 should have come down after the recent spell of rain but the surge had sent an alarm.

Declaring the health managers responsible for the spread of the viral disease, they said nothing was done before time to create awareness among the public or take measures at the public sector hospitals which were receiving a large number of patients with the virus.

BAHAWALPUR: The second patient of H1N1 at the Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) tested positive on Monday.

According to BVH Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Irshad Qureshi, the Multan laboratory branch of the National Institute of Health (NIH) had declared Muhammad Yaqoob, a police constable, carrying H1N1.

The MS told Dawn that Yaqoob was already getting treatment for H1N1.

Yaqoob, a resident of Chak 12-BC in Yazman tehsil, was posted in Muzaffargarh district from where he had contracted H1N1 virus.

Earlier, Naheed Shafiq of Toba Tek Singh had tested positive for H1N1.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed the provincial cabinet committee to take measures for controlling H1N1 virus.

He said an awareness campaign against the disease should continue and easy availability of medicine for its treatment should be ensured.

The chief minister said the best treatment facilities should be provided to the H1N1 patients at special wards and the cabinet committee should monitor facilities in hospitals.

He warned that no laxity would be tolerated in the treatment of the patients of swine flu and protective measures against the disease.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2016