KOLKATA: The death of a 32-year-old Thai national and the admission of a 28-year-old
Chinese woman to the isolation ward at ID Hospital, Beliaghata, on Monday sparked coronavirus panic in the city. While health officials breathed a sigh of relief when they could finally rule out coronavirus infection on the Chinese national, swab samples of the Thai national have been collected for confirmatory tests.
"ID Hospital has received the swab samples of the Thai woman, which will be sent to National Institute of Virology, Pune, for confirmatory tests," a senior health official at Swasthya Bhawan said.
The Chinese woman, Zno Huamin, had landed in Mumbai on January 24 before taking a train to Kolkata. When she complained of fever, headache and abdomen pain, a friend took her to Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals early on Monday. She was immediately sent to ID Hospital.
Doctors at the state run-hospital and health officials were on their toes right after the patient arrived around 2.30am. She was immediately put in the isolation ward that had been kept ready for patients suspected to be infected with coronavirus. Hospital administrators, including medical superintendent and vice-principal Asish Manna, reached the hospital and informed Swasthya Bhawan.
A team from the public health unit at Swasthya Bhawan and director of medical education Debasis Bhattacharyya visited the hospital. Huamin said she had left China about five months ago for globetrotting. The Swasthya Bhawan team, along with ID Hospital medicine department head Tapan Biswas found no coronavirus infection symptoms.
But as a precaution, the team got in touch with NIV, Pune, and sent her medical reports. They were relieved when NIV ruled out coronavirus infection and informed that her swab samples would not be necessary. “The patient is doing well. But we shall keep her under observation for now,” Manna said.
Expand
However, the nature of infection in the deceased Thai citizen is yet to be known. Her swab samples have been sent to ID Hospital. They will also be sent to NIV.
According to sources, the Thai woman, Surin Naktoy, was admitted to the emergency unit of Ruby General Hospital on the night of January 21, with acute respiratory distress. She was being treated at the ICU where she died around 5pm on Monday. “Since it was a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome involving a foreign national, we informed the health department. Her swab samples have been submitted,” said Debasis Datta, GM of operations, at Ruby General Hospital.
The hospital had kept the Thai consulate and the patient’s family in the loop during treatment. Like China, Thailand, has been affected by the coronavirus. Naktoy was on a business tour to Kolkata.