Seasonal ailments seem to be on the rise in East Godavari district with three persons testing positive for swine flu. According to District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) K. Chandraiah, two cases from Bobblilanka of Seethanagaram mandal — Anasuya (55) and 17-month-old Saikumar — and 16-month-old Venkata Ganeeth from the Tadithota area here, were referred to the Government General Hospital in Kakinada by private hospitals on Monday.
On Tuesday, three more suspected cases of swine flu — one from Rajanagaram and two from Ravulapalem — were referred to the GGH. According to Ramesh Kishore, Superintendent of the Rajamahendravaram Government Hospital, a separate swine flu ward was arranged at the hospital.
He said specialist doctors were available to treat the patients and as of now no case was referred to the hospital. “Throat swab culture has to be done for confirmation of swine flu.
The culture test is done in the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), Visakhapatnam, and no other tests are correct,” he said.
Cerebral malaria
Kakinada Staff Reporter adds:
GGH superintendent M. Raghavendra Rao said that of the six patients who were admitted to the special ward, three tested positive for swine flu.
“The samples of the fresh cases have been sent for laboratory tests, ” he said, adding that the condition of all the patients was stable.
Dr. Raghavendra Rao said a special ward was set up in the ENT building.
Meanwhile, a tribal person died of cerebral malaria at the GGH in the morning. Lotha Venkatreddy (25) of Singampalli village in Rajavommangi mandal was admitted in the hospital on Monday night. He had been suffering from fever and headache for the last one week.