A 43-year-old man died of Swine Flu early morning on Sunday at the city civil hospital here, a senior official said. Confirming the first swine flu death in Gujarat, state health secretary Ravi Saxena said Praveen Patel, an NRI, died of swine flu at city civil hospital at around 1:30am.
"He was admitted to the hospital in critical condition yesterday morning. His left lung was badly damaged," Saxena said. Patel, who had returned from Atlanta on July 31, was admitted to a private hospital for pneumonia and common flu on Friday. "He was referred to the civil hospital after doctors treating him realised that it was not common flu," Saxena said, adding where he was confirmed having swine flu. Patel's wife has also been confirmed suffering from swine flu and is being treated at the civil hospital, he said. So far, 10 people have been tested positive for H1N1 virus in the state, he added. The country has now seen four deaths from swine flu with the number of infected cases rising to 782. On Saturday, 53-year-old Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai and 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Tukaram Kokre from Pune had died of swine flu. Earlier on August 3, 14-year-old schoolgirl Reeda Shaikh also from Pune, had died due to the H1N1 virus.