There was a shock and surprise for everybody when the H1N1 test report came negative for 52-year-old Jayesh Shah who died of suspected swine flu infection at SSG Hospital on Saturday. The report came on Sunday.
Shah, who was working as an accountant at a Jain temple in Pune, came to Vadodara on Saturday. He was suffering from fever and other symptoms similar to H1N1-infected person. He was admitted to SSG Hospital on Saturday afternoon and immediately put on medication. But he died on Saturday evening, six hours after admission. He hailed from Dabhoi near Vadodara.
When the report of his blood sample came on Sunday evening, it was found that the patient had not been infected by H1N1 virus. Medical superintendent Dr AK Saxena said: "He was suffering from multi-organ disorder and kidney problems. We had taken the blood sample and sent it to Ahmedabad for testing. But before the report came, he expired."
Soon after the death of the patient, the hospital officials asked the relatives to take the body for funeral to avoid infection to any other person. The body was covered in a special plastic bag, and special body mask, including spectacles, were given to five persons who went for the funeral.
Following the instructions of the doctors, the relatives even didn't wait for Jayesh's wife who was on her way from Palitana. Talking to DNA, one of his relatives said that Jayesh had given the blood sample at a Pune laboratory for testing long back, but the laboratory officials had not given him the report because of overloaded work. "That was why he came to Vadodara to undergo treatment,'' the relative said.
