H1N1 death in Navi Mum, toll in Maha rises to 30

Mumbai: A 20-year-old pregnant woman from Raigad succumbed to H1N1 in Navi Mumbai last week, taking the state toll for the infection this year to 30—the highest in the country. This was also the third death in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) this month.      The latest victim, Soniya Pohal, was brought to D Y Patil Hospital on Saturday after her symptoms—fever and cold—intensified. Officials from Raigad said she had also developed breathlessness. Doctors said Pohal, who died on Sunday, did not have any underlying illness.      Epidemiologist Dr Pradeep Awate said the woman was pregnant, which made her prone to the infection. She is the fifth pregnant woman to succumb to H1N1 in the state this year. "Most of the H1N1 patients who died were (either pregnant or) suffering from conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiac ailments," Dr Awate said. In all, 14 people had pre-existing ailments, besides the five women who were pregnant. The remaining 11 individuals were healthy and fell to the infection alone.      While experts are still looking for answers to why the virus is back in circulation this year, the count of positive H1N1 cases across the state as well as MMR has been steadily rising. Between April and July, 477 positive cases were detected, of which 41% were in Mumbai. But the city has been lucky to not report a single death since 2010. The BMC's epidemiologist Dr Mangala Gomare maintains that heightened awareness among people and alertness among health authorities have kept the infection under control in Mumbai.      Still, city doctors say pregnant women need to be vigilant and seek medical help as soon as symptoms of the viral infection start manifesting.