St Anne's student suffered from broncho-pneumonia: Hospital

A schoolmate of Reeda Shaikh, the first swine flu victim in the country, died due to broncho-pneumonia and her autospy report was not suggestive of the viral infection, government-run Sassoon Hospital autorities today said.

The death of 12-year-old Rachana Oswal, a student of St Anne's High School here on August 26, had led to speculation on her illness after she was admitted to a private hospital with high fever and vomiting. She was later referred to Sassoon hospital where she was declared brought dead.

According to civic health officials, the girl was fasting since August 23 as part of a religious ritual Paryshan Parva—practised by Jain community when she developed fever and nausea. Before she was admitted to the private hospital on August 26, she had taken homoeopathic medicines a couple of days.

Hospital authorities said throat swabs were not checked during post-mortem which was done in a routine manner in the absence of any specific suggestion in the death report. The district collector Chandrakant Dalvi, however, said family members of Rachana would be subjected to a medical check-up as a precaution, adding there was no need for panic in the school which had remained closed for a day to condole the girl's death.