Ministry discloses severe symptoms in most flu deaths

Such was the finding of a Public Health Ministry investigation whose results were released yesterday.

Authorities say the new flu has now spread across the entire country. Bangkok is the country's largest source of infection, especially tourist areas and concert venues, as well as hospitals, where people exhibiting symptoms crowd together to receive medication.

The official death toll was 65 as of Wednesday, with the number of confirmed cases standing at 7,489. Seven people are receiving intensive care in hospital.

Three of the deaths were people from upcountry who developed symptoms after visiting Bangkok for only a short while.

They were a tourism-industry employee, a concert-goer and a patient with a chronic condition who travelled to a Bangkok hospital for unrelated medical treatment.

Other fatalities include three tourism-industry employees, three drivers, two Internet-cafe staff, an employee at a private tutorial school and a general labourer.

Nine farmers, seven students, six merchants, four state officials and four self-employed entrepreneurs have also succumbed to the disease, as have a number of maids and children.

The fatalities were spread across 27 provinces. Bangkok has been the hardest hit by the pandemic with 16 deaths, followed by Ratchaburi province with six.

The disease is considered most dangerous in people aged over 65, because they tend to suffer from pre-existing health conditions.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry yesterday announced that a 16-year-old girl who was two months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage was not infected with the type-A (H1N1) virus.

Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said lab tests on the girl came back negative.

The girl was admitted to Maharat Hospital in Nakhon Ratchasima suffering from severe pneumonia and given the antiviral drug oseltamivir.

Pregnant women have been flocking to hospitals for check-ups, concerned about the effects of the disease while they are with child.

In the latest development, a Ratchaburi woman who recently underwent a Caesarean section succumbed to type-A (H1N1) influenza yesterday evening in Chulalongkorn Hospital.

The woman became infected while seven months pregnant.

Because of the severity of her condition, doctors in Ratchaburi decided on the Caesarean in a bid to save her baby. The patient was then transferred to Bangkok for further treatment but died despite doctors' best efforts.

Her baby was also infected but is now out of danger.

Below are the numbers of typeA (H1N1) infections and deaths by age group.

Age 0-5 :      562 cases, 2 deaths

Age 6-10 :   1,208 cases, 2 deaths

Age 11-20 :  3,659 cases, 6 deaths

Age 21-30 : 1,060 cases, 14 deaths

Age 31-40 :   513 cases, 13 deaths

Age 41-50 : 364 cases, 12 deaths

Age 50-60 : 22 cases, 9 deaths