Wednesday, August 12, 2009

India-Swine flu suspect tests HIV positive

BALASORE: The first suspected swine flu case of Balasore district was tested HIV positive on Wednesday. Upendra Rana (47) of Sundhira village within
Khaira police station limits, who had returned from Thane three days ago, was admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital with suspected swine flu symptoms.

"But doctors, who conducted several tests on him, later confirmed that he had contracted the fatal virus. Rana admitted that he had been tested positive for the same virus. But he had kept quiet, fearing social stigma," said his brother Manoranjan Rana.

Members of his family said Rana, a bachelor, who was working at a Thane hotel returned home after 35 years. The hotel owner sent him home after conducting a few tests on him at a hospital there.

However, Rana's homecoming with a suspected deadly virus
has shaken his family. His mother, Sabitri, who was waiting for her elder son since last more than three decades is taken aback.

"He had left home in search of job at the age of 12. During the past 35 years, he had never visited his home and didn't even make a phone call until he appeared at our doorstep with this deadly disease. We thought he had gone missing. Though I was happy to see him again, the news that he has contracted such a disease broke my heart," she said.
Apart from Hindi, Rana does not know any other language, not even his mother tongue Oriya.

"He told us that he first went to Kolkata and then proceeded to Maharastra. He was working at a hotel in Thane as a cook where he fell sick. He returned home after the hotel owner sent him home with some money," Manoranjan Rana said.

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