Swine Flu Death

Lahore: As per the notification issued by the health department the first death caused by swine flu in Punjab in 2015 after reports tested the patient positive for the H1N1 virus.

According to the notification a middle-aged man died of swine flu at a private hospital in Lahore. The patient identified as Syed Altaf Husain Sherazi, was under treatment at Doctors Hospital. It is pertinent to mention that according to Director General Health the management of the Doctors Hospital failed to inform the health department about the presence of the suspected patient of swine flu.

It was only when the health experts came to know about it, they took blood samples of the patient and sent them to the National Institute of Health, Islamabad
ho confirmed that the patient was suffering from swine flu.

Since the patient was a resident of Sargodha, the health department dispatched teams to Sargodha for surveillance and to get blood samples of those people who remained in contact with the patient during the period of his disease. Similar exercise was conducted at the private hospital where the patient remained under treatment.

The Adviser on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique informed that an inquiry would be conducted and in case of violation of SOP, the matter would be sent to the Punjab Healthcare Commission for taking action against the hospital concerned.

It was the responsibility of the private hospital to inform the CDC section of the health department about the patient of H1N1 virus.