By Our Correspondent in Cuttack, February 1, 2015 :

Swine flu on Sunday claimed its first victim of the year in Odisha when a 42-year old man died due to the disease here at the SCB Medical College and Hospital.

The man, identified as Aditya Narayan Jena Mukundaprasad in Khurdha district, who was being treated at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, was shifted to the SCB Medical College Hospital after his condition deteriorated.

“The patient was in a very critical condition when he was brought here. Doctors here did their best, but could not revive him. He died at about 1.30 pm this afternoon,” said Dr Bhubananada Maharana, emergency officer at the SCB.

While confirming that this was the first swine flu death of the year in the state Dr Maharana, however, said there was no need to panic.

“The SCB Medical College is fully equipped to handle swine flu cases. We have a special isolation ward with 10 beds, four of them with ventilators and ICU support. In fact, we were equipped even in 2009-10 when the situation was much worse than it is now,” he said.

The man who died today had tested positive for swine flu (H1N1) virus on Saturday, taking the number of patients who have tested positive for the dreaded disease in the state to four.

The samples sent to Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) in Bhubaneswar confirmed that the person is afflicted with the virus.

According to sources in the hospital where he was being treated in Bhubaneswar, the patient was a diabetic and had a history of kidney disorders making it difficult for doctors to treat him.

“A person from Khurdha district has tested positive and is under treatment in a private hospital. Since the patient is also a diabetic, doctors are taking extra care,” Public Health Director Kailash Dash had said yesterday.