The Indian Council of Medical Research reports that swine flu is responsible for 98% of tested influenza cases nationwide. Despite this prevalence, health officials emphasize that there is no cause for alarm, as there have been no reported deaths linked to the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus to date.
There are two peaks usually— monsoon and winters— and the cases that we are seeing are usual for this time of the year. We haven’t found any trend or pattern out of the usual that should concern us. Bahl added that while the number of infections may have risen over the past few weeks, there aren’t too many severe cases needing hospitalisation. “Some cases are severe, but the number is not unusually high. And those who require admission are usually people who have some underlying medical condition. But the trend also suggests that the worst (in terms of infections) is yet to come. “We can never know when the peak is going to hit until the number of cases start plateauing and then coming down. ICMR is tracking cases closely. Hospitals say there has been an uptick in the number of admissions related to respiratory illnesses but that the numbers are not overwhelming. “The number of admissions of respiratory cases is high, but these are people who suffer from some form of co-morbidities. Not all need admission. Based on these recommendations, companies issue annual vaccines.
“Our surveillance network has shown about 98% of the cases that are tested are of H1N1; however, there is no need to panic as there is no shift in the seasonal flu pattern that we normally see. “There is a robust surveillance network in place in 23 hospitals across the country that function as sentinel sites for syndromic and other testing. There are 73 labs that test at least 25 samples each in a week of severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and influenza-like illness (ILI) to know which pathogens are circulating in the community,” Bahl added.
Having said that we have to be watchful and follow preventive measures,” said Dr Rajiv Bahl, director-general, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). So far, the trend shows the number of infections is going up,” he said. Also, the numbers aren’t overwhelming and people are getting better,” said Dr Sumit Ray, medical superintendent, Holy Family Hospital, Delhi. Almost half the adult population in the US takes a flu shot, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
