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NEW DELHI, May 12 (APD)— Cases of swine flu are on the rise across India, with provinces in south and west being worst affected.
Till the beginning of May, 8,648 cases of swine flu and 345 deaths owing to the virus were reported. The disease has hit the provinces of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra the worst.
According to a official from the health ministry, “Flu outbreaks appear to hit western India harder, show India’s earliest records when Odisha, West Bengal and the north-east India escaped the worst of the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak, which killed 40 million people worldwide.” He added, “Viruses are not predictable at all. This year, the hotspots in Maharashtra are in Aurangabad, Nashik and Pune, but Mumbai is not affected.”
Speaking to the media, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, who is the director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research further explained, “We don’t have an answer to this. We definitely need studies to understand why the virus behaves differently in different parts of the country.”
According to a Hindustan Times report, influenza A (H1N1) is predominant in India and the Maldives, while in Pakistan cases of influenza A (H3N2) viruses have been reported recently.
In India, the flu typically spreads two times a year— first in July and August, and then from October to February. Vaccinations reduce the risk of catching the virus.
Dr Krishan Chugh, an expert on the subject said, “Now is a good time for people in India to get vaccinated against seasonal flu because it takes four to six weeks for the protective effects to kick in. Getting vaccinated now will protect people when the flu peaks during the monsoons and again in winter.”
Meanwhile the government is trying to spread awareness about swine flu vaccine. “Medicines are manufactured in India and all states have procured them. The government does not stockpile the flu vaccine because its life is nine months to a year, but since it is also manufactured in India, there’s no shortfall,” said a ministry official.
World Health Organization estimates that every year swine flu affects 15% of the world’s population. Its early symptoms are fever, lethargy and cough.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
