A 36-year old man who worked in Malaysia for the last three years and came back to India on Thursday with symptoms of flu and breathlessness, died on Saturday after he was tested negative for the deadly coronavirus.
He landed at the international airport in Cochin on Thursday night and was rushed to the isolation ward at the Government Medical College Hospital.
Doctors said that the man died of pneumonia and chest congestion. They were waiting for the test result of his second sample from a laboratory.
A senior doctor of the Government Medical College and Hospital, Dr. Ganesh Mohanan said, “In the preliminary investigation, we found he developed acute pneumonia and respiratory distress syndrome. We also understood that he was diabetic. Blood sugar can flare up when there is an acute infection.”
He further added, “We suspect he died of pneumonia and diabetic ketoacidosis wherein the body cannot produce insulin.”
The samples of the deceased tested negative for H1N1 and CoVid-19 at the Virology Institute in Alappuzha. A second sample was sent to ensure he was not infected by Coronavirus.
Ernakulam district collector S Suhas had called an emergency meeting on Friday after the man was admitted to the isolation ward. He had also visited the isolation ward and took stock of the situation.
India has reported three coronavirus cases in India so far, all of them are Kerala students who returned from Wuhan which is the epicenter of the outbreak of the virus.
The state of Kerala had declared a “medical calamity” last month and restricted on large gatherings and excursions. It had declared a medical emergency on 3 February 2019, after the third case was detected in Noth Kerala. Kerala later withdrew the “calamity” warning after it successfully restricted the virus to the three students.
All three students have recovered and discharged from the hospital.
