Child dies of ‘swine flu’ in Chennai

 

Chennai: A two-and-a-half-year old girl from Kalpakkam died of swine flu on Saturday ni­ght in the city. Though the Chennai corporation co­n­fir­med the death, officials point out that the main cause of death was nep­hrotic syndrome and not due to the A (H1N1) virus.

 

Dharshini was suffering from low levels of protein in the blood, and developed swelling all over the body. “We took her to a private hospital in Chetput on October 21 and the doctors told me that she was suffering from nephrotic syndrome and that she needed steroids.

 

She was discharged twice from the hospital and when we took her again on November 6, she was given antibiotics. Suddenly, she developed breathlessness and was taken to the ICU. On Saturday night, her condition worsened and doctors advised us to take her to either Ramachandra hospital or Children’s hospital in Egmore,” said Dharshini’s father Senthil Murugan.

 

He said doctors at the private hospital confirmed that she tested positive for swine flu. “We rushed her to the Institute of Child Health hospital in Egmore but within half-an-hour she was declared dead,” said Senthil. An official from the public health and preventive medicine department told DC that the child developed swine flu as coincidental infection.