Flu scare in resort town a false alarm
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 05, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The sudden death of 34-year-old M.A., who was hospitalized in Antalya’s Akdeniz University Hospital, with suspected swine flu symptoms on Sunday night, caused panic in the southern city. The ward where M.A had received treatment, the ambulance that ferried him to hospital and his home were immediately placed under quarantine for the night.
As of Monday morning, the reports were shown to be false the hospital’s head physician, İbrahim Demir, declared that the cause of M.A.’s death was not swine flu; however, the exact cause was still unknown.
"M.A., a banker aged 34, was brought to our hospital by the 112 Emergency Team on Sunday night. He had already passed away when he arrived at the hospital. The assertions that the patient died of swine flu do not reflect the truth," Assistant Professor İbrahim Demir told a press conference. "In our experience, I can say that this kind of death most probably derive from a sudden cardiovascular malfunction. There has been no case of swine flu seen at Akdeniz University Hospital so far", Demir added. Professor Dilar İnan, who treated M.A. also rejected the assertions. According to information obtained from the hospital management, İnan said that the patient had never traveled abroad in his life, and the patient was not suspected of suffering from any swine flu symptoms.
M.A. will undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death, hospital management added. Antalya Governor Alaaddin Yüksel, Antalya mayor said that because of the delicate nature of the situation people should be careful regarding speculating and reporting on news related to the issue.
"Antalya is a strategically important city. Nobody has the right to upset the public with unproven assertions," said Yüksel, adding that the city implemented all the necessary precautions.
The Ministry of Health has also confirmed that there no cases of swine flu have been reported in Antalya.
"M.A., a banker aged 34, was brought to our hospital by the 112 Emergency Team on Sunday night. He had already passed away when he arrived at the hospital. The assertions that the patient died of swine flu do not reflect the truth," Assistant Professor İbrahim Demir told a press conference. "In our experience, I can say that this kind of death most probably derive from a sudden cardiovascular malfunction. There has been no case of swine flu seen at Akdeniz University Hospital so far", Demir added. Professor Dilar İnan, who treated M.A. also rejected the assertions. According to information obtained from the hospital management, İnan said that the patient had never traveled abroad in his life, and the patient was not suspected of suffering from any swine flu symptoms.
M.A. will undergo an autopsy to determine the cause of death, hospital management added. Antalya Governor Alaaddin Yüksel, Antalya mayor said that because of the delicate nature of the situation people should be careful regarding speculating and reporting on news related to the issue.
"Antalya is a strategically important city. Nobody has the right to upset the public with unproven assertions," said Yüksel, adding that the city implemented all the necessary precautions.
The Ministry of Health has also confirmed that there no cases of swine flu have been reported in Antalya.