H1N1 flu: Five cases reported in Karachi

KARACHI: According to sources, five patients, who had reported at a private hospital in Clifton over the past few weeks, were tested positive for H1N1 flu, recently.

One of these patients, identified as a 35-year-old man admitted to the same hospital and was treated in its infectious diseases’ ward, but died within a week.

The sources said that two patients infected with H1N1 strain were currently under treatment at the hospital while two others had been examined in its outpatient department.

No health department official was available for confirmation while the private hospital hadn’t specified the H1N1 flu as the cause of his death as the patient had some other health complications also.

Precautionary measures suggested against the highly contagious viral infection.

Sources said four to five cases of H1N1 flu had been reported in Islamabad as well.

The H1N1 influenza — according to the WHO — is similar to seasonal influenza but has been characterised by higher activity during the northern summer season, higher fatality rates among healthy young adults and higher incidence of viral pneumonia.