Mangaluru : A 23-year-old woman employee of Venoor Gram Panchayat died following H1N1 infection in a private hospital here on Sunday. This is the fourth death due to H1N1, a form of swine flu, reported in Dakshina Kannada this year.

District Disease Surveillance Officer B.V. Rajesh said that Pushpavati, a clerk in the gram panchayat, had fever two weeks ago. The woman, who was eight months pregnant, had been tested positive for H1N1. Following initial treatment at the Primary Health Centre in Venoor, she had been referred to a private hospital near Pumpwell.

Dr. Rajesh said that Pushpathi underwent a C-section a few days ago to give birth to a baby boy. She failed to respond to treatment and died on Sunday morning.

Earlier, a 36-year-old shopkeeper from Balpa from Sullia taluk, who had multiple complications, including H1N1 infection, died in a private hospital Mangaluru in the first week of this month.

Lakshminarayan Saliyan, a manager of Bharat Cooperative Bank’s Mulky branch, died on February 11. In another case, a 36-year-old wife of an employee from MRPL died on March 11.