59-year-old man from Vaniyambadi dies of H1N1 influenza at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai

Tirupattur man dies of H1N1; health officials take preventive steps incl. distribution of tablets & disinfection of area. Special medical camps & testing of samples to be held. Residents urged to wear face masks in public.

A 59-year-old man, who was running a grocery shop in Vaniyambadi town, died at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai due to multiple health complications, including infection of H1N1 influenza, in the early hours of Sunday.

As a preventive measure, officials of the Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Tirupattur have been undertaking a series of preventive steps including distribution of oseltamivir phosphate tablets to residents in the New Town area of Vaniyambadi municipality from Sunday onwards.

Health officials said that over 1.5 lakh persons from Tirupattur district migrate to neighbouring districts and cities like Chennai and Bengaluru and return during weekends. So, the infection might not have originated from Tirupattur. “Sunday’s incident was the first case reported in the district after many years. However, we are taking preventive steps especially in the New Town area of Vaniyambadi where he lived for many years,” T.R. Senthil, Deputy Director of Health Services (DDHS), Tirupatur, told The Hindu.

Health officials said that the victim S. Ravikumar, who was living on Pillar Koil Street in New Town, was suffering from liver cirrhosis for many years and was undergoing treatment in various hospitals. Subsequently, he was admitted to the RGGGH on August 31 due to severe pain. However, he died at the hospital on Sunday due to multiple complications including H1N1 infection, health officials said.

Following the incident, the district health officials and Vaniyambadi municipality have disinfected the Bazaar area in New Town where more than 150 shops are located. Streets in the area were also disinfected. Around 5,000 oseltamivir phosphate tablets are also being distributed to family and relatives of the deceased person and to residents in the area. The distribution of the tablets will be done for a week.

Special medical camps at the Government General Hospital, two primary health care centres and health wellness centres in Vaniyambadi town will also be held in the coming week. Samples from these camps will be collected and tested at laboratories for any symptoms of the infection. Cough, fever, body pain are common symptoms of the infection. Residents were also asked to wear face masks in the public, health officials said.