?A third victim has died from the Influenza A/HINI virus. The man, aged 28, of Penal, died at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the San Fernando General Hospital around 10 am yesterday. He was one of three people who were brought in the hospital's ICU on suspicion of having the disease. Tests confirmed that the other two patients who were suspected of having the virus, were not H1N1 positive, doctors said yesterday. Several other patients, among them the 13-year-old nephew of one of the victims who died on Tuesday, were being treated in various wards of the hospital on suspicion of having contracted the virus.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Health Minister Jerry Narace said there were five other H1N1 cases pending confirmation at the San Fernando Hospital. He confirmed the deaths of two men were due to the virus. He said a third death–that of a woman–was still under investigation. The three confirmed victims, all from south Trinidad, were of East Indian descent, were male and were between the ages of 28 and 42. Doctors said they did not think there was any common thread to explain why only East Indians had succumbed to disease.
However, even though the ICU was now swine-flu free, the death of this latest victim has raised concerns for relatives of five other patients who were also warded at the institution for non-virus related illnesses, during his stay. Dr Helmer Hilwig, head of the Adult Emergency Department at Mt Hope, said there was no scientific evidence at this time to support that there was a new strain of the Influenza A HINI virus in T&T. Responding to reports, Hilwig said there was always the possibility of mutation, but there was no proof of that at this time.