LAHORE: The first swine flu case of 2018 has appeared in Lahore with a 70-year-old woman testing positive for the disease.
According to reports, 70-year-old Rashida Bibi suffering from high fever was brought to a private hospital in Lahore on December 28. Her blood sample was sent to Islamabad’s National Institute of Health Laboratory and was found positive for swine flu.
National Institute of Health Laboratory has also confirmed the report.
Swine flu is fast becoming a menace for the population of Punjab, earlier, it was reported in December 2017, that five people had died because of the disease in Multan’s Nishter Hospital.
However it is not just swine flu that has been claiming lives this winter season.
An outbreak of seasonal influenza in Multan has claimed 17 lives in the last 23 days with a total of 47 patients being diagnosed with the disease.
A team of specialist doctors arrived in Multan in the first week of January for the treatment of influenza. The team has been deployed at Nishtar Hospital while a massive influenza vaccination drive has been launched in Multan region to control the epidemic.
Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif has already taken notice of the spread of influenza and directed relevant authorities to take all possible measures for its prevention. He also advised them to organise awareness campaign regarding the illness.