12-year-old girl dies of H1N1 in Kerala's Kozhikode
India Today
A 12-year-old girl has died of H1N1 infection in Kerala. Her twin sister is currently under treatment after contracting the virus.
A 12-year-old girl has died of H1N1 infection in Ulliyeri region of Kerala's Kozhikode. The girl died on Sunday while undergoing treatment for swine flu.
Seasonal influenza (H1N1) is a self-limiting viral, air-borne disease that spreads from person to person, through large droplets generated due to coughing and sneezing, indirect contact and close contact.
After returning from Bangalore, the girl showed some symptoms. But, H1N1 was confirmed in a medical examination after she died.
The girl was first admitted to Koyilandy Taluk hospital in Kozhikode. Later, she was transferred to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.
The twin sister of the girl has also been diagnosed with H1N1. She is currently under treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared its first ever Public Health Emergency of International Concern for the H1N1 virus in April 2009. About 2,84,500 people were reported to have been killed by the epidemic, while the actual number may be much higher.
The virus has its origins in an influenza pandemic (also known as the Spanish Flu) in 1918-1919. Though the virus itself was a human influenza virus, researchers found that the virus, causing the pandemic, was able to infect and replicate in pigs but did not kill them.
