KARACHI: Health authorities on Saturday confirmed the death of an elderly man from swine flu at a private hospital.

The 65-year-old man was the third victim who died of swine flu in the city since Jan 1.

Officials said he was admitted to the hospital early this month and he died three days ago though the death was confirmed only on Saturday.

“His tests confirmed that he died from the complications caused by swine flu with other medical reasons,” said an official while speaking to Dawn.

He said swine flu was a form of influenza, which was not fatal if its patient did not suffer other medical complications and had strong immunity.

Senior officials in the ministry of health made it clear that swine flu of H1N1 strain was not lethal, as its mortality rate was 0.5 per cent. It should be taken as seriously as influenza, they said.

Explaining deaths of people suffering from swine flu, they said the infection could become lethal for the patients with low immunity or the ones already suffering from serious medical complications.

A total of 35 cases of swine flu have been reported so far this year. The patients include those who came from other parts of the country. They were tested and treated as outdoor patients as they didn’t need admission.

The first alert for swine flu had been issued in Karachi after deaths from the infection were reported in Punjab.

After dozens of cases were reported in the city, the Karachi administration sought assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to equip all the hospitals to check swine flu. But isolation wards equipped with ventilators and other related facilities were being set up in some large hospitals. The staffs in the public and private sectors are being trained for the disease as a capacity building measure.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2016