Mumbai:
A 25-year-old woman succumbed to H1N1 virus in Mumbai, as the city reported its first swine flu death in nearly eight months, health officials said today.
Ashiya Sheikh, a resident of Bhandup, who had delivered twins on May 30, succumbed to the virus at the Sion hospital on Saturday last, they said.
"Sheikh was put on Tami flu on June 2 when symptoms of H1N1 were first observed. She had developed ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and was shifted to the medical intensive care unit," Head of Epidemiology cell, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), Dr Daksha Shah said.
The last swine flu death in the city was reported in October.
Following Sheikh's death, the civic body has adopted a wait and watch policy but has put its health department on alert.
"With one death we cannot say the virus is back in the air. We do not want to create panic among people. It is a wait and watch situation but we have put our health machinery on
alert," additional municipal commissioner, MCGM, Manisha Mhaiskar told PTI.
According to health officials, four persons have tested positive to the H1N1 virus in the past one week.
"The city has reported positive cases of swine flu. But these are sporadic cases and there has been no substantial rise in cases," Mhaiskar said.
Mumbai has reported about 32 deaths due to swine flu since last August.