Mumbai: The number of swine flu cases across the state has dropped by 95 per cent, according to health officials. The state recorded a total of 66 H1N1 deaths in March, and in a positive development, this number dipped to three in June. Health experts say various factors, such as proper surveillance, workshops for doctors and early diagnosis could be the factors behind this success. As per recent data shared by the state public health department, a patient from Pune is on ventilator, while statewide, 191 deaths were registered between January and June. However, around 1,745 were diagnosed with H1N1 and nearly 30,000 vaccinated against influenza.
A majority of the cases in Maharashtra were reported from Nagpur, Pune, Nashik, Thane and Palghar. Nashik has recorded the highest number of deaths (36), followed by Nagpur (25), Ahmednagar (16), Pune (13), Kolhapur (9) and Mumbai (02). Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, said over 22,906 people were given Oseltamivir pills, an antiviral medication was used to treat influenza A and influenza B between January and mid-July. “More than 70 patients are currently admitted to various hospitals across the state, while 1,511 patients have been discharged,” he said. Swine flu generally spreads during winters, but there has been a spike in cases across India even as warmer weather sets in, affecting people regardless of season, geography and age. The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 24,000 confirmed cases of swine flu across India till July 22.
Sanket Kulkarni, deputy director, NCDC said, there were at least two seasons for the virus. One was January-March and the second was August-October. "The previous season used to be what we call a ‘major peak’ and August-October would be a ‘minor peak’. But now this has been reversed. The influenza virus has trans-equatorial transmission, meaning, it moves from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere and vice-versa. Scientists are still trying to establish the reason for this reversal,” said an expert.
The primary symptoms of swine flu include fever, lethargy, headache, cough, sore throat and nausea. While most people recover within a week, those with low immunity, and chronic diseases such as asthma, lung diseases, diabetes, cancer, kidney or heart problems, risk serious complications, even death, from multi-organ failure.
Meanwhile, the state health department is awaiting guidelines from the Union health ministry to introduce the new quadrivalent vaccine, which protects against H1N1 and three other influenza strains, under Maharashtra’s free swine flu vaccinations programme. The quadrivalent vaccine is for immunising high-risk individuals against swine flu and other seasonal viruses which are co-circulating. The state government will decide its use,” said senior public health expert Subhash Salukhe, head of the state government’s technical committee on communicable diseases.
