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Child Dies Due to Suspected H1N1
Asma Ali Zain
22 October 2009
DUBAI ? A one-and-a-half-year-old child has died due to respiratory infection suspected to be caused by Influenza A (H1N1) virus at a private hospital in Dubai.
The girl was admitted to the hospital earlier this week with flu-like symptoms including severe infection of the upper respiratory tract but died on Tuesday.
?The child had developed severe infection of the upper larynx which resulted in heart failure leading to her death,? a top official of the hospital, who did not want to be named, told Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
Swabs from the Indian girl and her 10-year-old brother have been sent for confirmatory tests and results are expected soon.
The official also said both children were being administered Tamiflu as per the treatment guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Health.
?This is the usual treatment given to anyone showing severe flu-like symptoms,? the official added.
A close relative of the family said the child showed no symptoms of any underlying disease that is considered a risk factor in H1N1 cases.
?She was a healthy child and we don?t know if she had any heart problems that could have been aggravated due to the viral attack,? said the relative, who wished to remain anonymous.
?The family is shattered,? said the relative, adding that both her parents did not show any symptoms.
On Wednesday, local media also reported that a 44-year-old Emirati woman succumbed to suspected H1N1 in Ras Al Khaimah.
The ministry has stopped releasing statistics of those infected or dead due to the disease a few months back saying that the World Health Organisation did not require it to do so.
During a recent seminar on H1N1, ministry officials admitted that they had not been able to keep track of the numbers of those infected with the virus in the country.
According to the world health body, children, elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions fall under the high-risk category and are among the groups that will be inoculated in the first phase after the vaccine becomes available.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.ae
Child Dies Due to Suspected H1N1
Asma Ali Zain
22 October 2009
DUBAI ? A one-and-a-half-year-old child has died due to respiratory infection suspected to be caused by Influenza A (H1N1) virus at a private hospital in Dubai.
The girl was admitted to the hospital earlier this week with flu-like symptoms including severe infection of the upper respiratory tract but died on Tuesday.
?The child had developed severe infection of the upper larynx which resulted in heart failure leading to her death,? a top official of the hospital, who did not want to be named, told Khaleej Times on Wednesday.
Swabs from the Indian girl and her 10-year-old brother have been sent for confirmatory tests and results are expected soon.
The official also said both children were being administered Tamiflu as per the treatment guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Health.
?This is the usual treatment given to anyone showing severe flu-like symptoms,? the official added.
A close relative of the family said the child showed no symptoms of any underlying disease that is considered a risk factor in H1N1 cases.
?She was a healthy child and we don?t know if she had any heart problems that could have been aggravated due to the viral attack,? said the relative, who wished to remain anonymous.
?The family is shattered,? said the relative, adding that both her parents did not show any symptoms.
On Wednesday, local media also reported that a 44-year-old Emirati woman succumbed to suspected H1N1 in Ras Al Khaimah.
The ministry has stopped releasing statistics of those infected or dead due to the disease a few months back saying that the World Health Organisation did not require it to do so.
During a recent seminar on H1N1, ministry officials admitted that they had not been able to keep track of the numbers of those infected with the virus in the country.
According to the world health body, children, elderly, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions fall under the high-risk category and are among the groups that will be inoculated in the first phase after the vaccine becomes available.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.ae