Swine flu kills 1,094 in India in 8 months

International Desk: The number of deaths caused by swine flu in the country has touched 1,094. Of them, 342 people have died due to the viral illness in the past three weeks.

The latest data on swine flu, released by the Union health ministry on Wednesday, reveals that Maharashtra and Gujarat are worst affected by the viral influenza with 437 and 269 deaths, respectively. States like Rajasthan, Kerala and Delhi have also reported a high incidence of the disease.

The H1N1 strain in circulation this year is different from that in previous years, Dr A C Dhariwal, director of NCDC, said.

The virus in circulation this year is of the Michigan strain. Earlier, it was mostly the California strain," Dhariwal said. He said the new strain could be a reason for the increased incidence and mortality, but it is yet to be proved scientifically. The AIIMS and Pune's National Institute of Virology said the same thing.

Jagdish Prasad, director general of health services (DGHS), said middle-aged persons and those with co-morbidities such as diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cancer are vulnerable to death due to swine flu. "They should take extra precautions," he added.

Data on swine flu cases and deaths released by the government shows September and October are peak months for transmission of the viral influenza.

Dr Dhariwal said accurate reporting of notifiable diseases in necessary to alert the local population about necessary precautions and for the state authorities to prepare action-plan to tackle extra-rush of patients in hospitals. In Delhi, government data shows five people died of the viral illness and 1,719 people had been affected as on August 20. However, TOI checked with five top hospitals and found they had recorded more than 40 deaths.

Source: Times of India




risingbd/Aug 24, 2017/Mukul