‘For four long years Sundeep waited patiently to visit his parents back in India’

A Melbourne international student has tragically died of Covid after returning to India for the first time in four years, to see his parents. It comes as a deadly new Covid strain hits Australia.

A Melbourne international student has tragically died from Covid and severe flu after returning home to India for the first time in “four long years” to visit his parents.

A GoFundMe set up for the struggling family for Sundeep Mandhalapu, 27, states the young man had been living in Melbourne while pursuing his university education for four years — before finally returning to India to see his parents last month.

Just two days after arriving in his home country he fell ill and was admitted to an Indian hospital with Covid.

Melbourne student Sundeep Mandhalapu has died of Covid in India, on a long-awaited visit home to his family. Picture: Supplied

“His battle with the virus was a harrowing one. Despite a valiant struggle, test results indicated having influenza B and his lungs suffered nearly 80 per cent damage, leading to a four-day stay on a ventilator until he tragically passed away on September 10, 2023, succumbing to a cardiac arrest,” his friend Spandana Sakamuri said.

“For four long years, Sundeep waited patiently for an opportunity to visit his parents, who reside in India. His father, unfortunately, lost his sight two decades ago, and his mother, the sole provider for their family, maintains their livelihood by managing a small store within their home . . . the Mandhalapu family is now grappling with the profound loss of their only son. They have incurred substantial medical expenses, totalling approximately $30,000 in addition to an education loan of $40,000 that Sundeep was planning to repay back.

“Sundeep’s father, who is blind, cannot work, and his mother faces health challenges, including diabetes, which further exacerbates their difficulties.”

It comes as a frightening new Covid variant called Pirola — described as the most deadly strain of the virus since Omicron — is detected in Australia.

The World Health Organization has designated Pirola a “variant under monitoring” due to its large number of mutations.

One case has been detected so far in Australia, in a laboratory in Western Australia.

“There are more than 30 mutations, especially in the spike region, when compared to the Omicron strains that are circulating currently,” a spokesperson for WA’s health department said.

“The number of mutations is similar to the number of new mutations found in Omicron when compared to the strains circulating at the time it first emerged.”

The high number of mutations meant that spike proteins — the membranes on the outside of the virus that allow it to enter and infect human cells — will change their shape.

“Having changed their shape, they may become more infectious, they may become more disease-causing,” Dr Bharat Pankhania, an infectious disease control expert, told Sky News.

Victoria has the highest number of nursing home resident and staff Covid cases in Australia.

Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded the highest number of nursing home resident and staff Covid cases in the country, with illness soaring over a single week this month.

Cases among Victorian aged care residents rose from September 6 to September 13 from 119 to 191, and in staff members from 39 to 55 over the same period.

The Victorian cases represent a large chunk of the national tally of 465 Covid-infected nursing home residents and 138 staff members.

And despite the Victorian health department no longer accepting RAT results, cases in the general population — reported via PCR tests — have also surged according to official federal Department of Health and Aged Care data by nearly 16 per cent.

Medical experts have warned Victorians have become complacent about Covid and a stigma has developed around mask-wearing.

Melbourne’s Burnet Institute chief Prof Brendan Crabb took to Twitter to say that “to defeat Covid we need to acknowledge it’s still here and commit to the development of new tools”.

With News.com

Originally published as ‘For four long years Sundeep waited patiently to visit his parents back in India’