Maharashtra recorded two H3N2 deaths in last seven days

Since January, 118 influenza cases (15 H3N2 and 105 H1N1 cases) have been reported, said BMC out of which 19 cases (18 H1N1, 1 H3N2) were reported in January, 46 (39 H1N1, 7 H3N2)in February and 53(46 H1N1, 7 H3N2) cases in March till date

Mumbai: In the last seven days, the state saw two deaths due to H3N2-a subtype of Influenza A virus, confirmed the state health minister in the state assembly on Wednesday. The deceased is a 23-year-old MBBS student from Ahmednagar and a 72-year-old man from Nagpur with co-morbidities.

“Guidelines are circulated to all private practitioners that if fever doesn’t subside within 24 hours then Oseltamivir shall be immediately started without waiting for results of diagnostic tests (Swab is not mandatory in such cases),” Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC said (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The MBBS student was found positive for both Covid-19 and H3N2 after he died (March 13).

“The 72-year-old man tested positive for H3N2 on March 7 and died on March 9 and was a patient of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure and diabetes,” Tanaji Sawant, the state health minister said.

He added that in the state there have been 303 H1N1-positive patients and 58 positive cases of H3N2 till March 13. “Most of the cases are found in cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Sangli, Kolhapur and Aurangabad,” said Sawant.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said at present they have 32 influenza patients admitted out of which 4 are H3N2 and 28 are H1N1 patients. The civic body said all the patients are stable.

“Guidelines are circulated to all private practitioners that if fever doesn’t subside within 24 hours then Oseltamivir shall be immediately started without waiting for results of diagnostic tests (Swab is not mandatory in such cases),” Dr Mangala Gomare, executive health officer, BMC said.

Since January, 118 influenza cases (15 H3N2 and 105 H1N1 cases) have been reported, said BMC out of which 19 cases (18 H1N1, 1 H3N2) were reported in January, 46 (39 H1N1, 7 H3N2)in February and 53(46 H1N1, 7 H3N2) cases in March till date.

The state health minister asked the people to start wearing masks and maintain social distancing as a precautionary measure and said chief minister Eknath Shinde will be holding a meeting on H3N2 on Thursday or Friday to decide further course of action. “It would be better if people maintain social distance and start wearing masks for their safety. We have issued directives and have asked the health department to stay on alert,” he said. Meanwhile, a day after the Union Health Ministry issued directives to all states on the H3N2 virus, the Maharashtra state health department on Wednesday asked all district officers to send daily reports on the H3N2 cases from their jurisdiction.

Sanjay Khandare, health secretary said emphasis will be given to sensitising the common man on precautions to be taken to protect themselves from these viruses through our information- education and communication (IEC) programmes. “Influenza, swine flu, H3N2 has been there in the community for some years. We just need to take precautions. We have asked our health machinery to be on alert,” he said.

Doctors said since more than a month, they have been seeing many H3N2 patients with symptoms like severe myalgia which is a lot of body pain, muscle pain, headache along with runny nose. On March 4, HT reported on doctors in Mumbai seeing a rise in H3N2 cases for the last one and half month. They said the cost of the confirmatory laboratory test- ₹3.5-4k is a deterrent factor and most patients are treated symptomatically.

Dr Subhash Salunkhe, former director of health for Maharashtra and epidemiologist said H3N2 is not a new virus and there have been cases in previous years as well. “Like Covid-19 and H1N1, H3N2 also has the potential to cause lung infection and complications and the vulnerable population remains the same. The vulnerable population needs to be protected by following basic precautions like masking, following hand hygiene and cough hygiene, etc,” he said.

Dr Salunkhe said the government should have year-round surveillance machinery for such viruses. “The present reaction of issuing directives is a knee-jerk reaction. We need robust surveillance for such viruses instead,” he said. He also added that steps should be taken to reduce the cost of the flu test which is around ₹3.5-5k and non-affordable to the common man.

“We need a similar approach as we did for Covid-19 testing. We need to strengthen the laboratory facilities to handle the situation better, though not all influenza patients need to undergo laboratory tests unless the doctor thinks,” added Dr Salunkhe.

Dr Shalmali Inamdar, an internal medicine specialist at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital-Andheri said they are seeing more H3N2 cases than other influenza cases in the Outdoor Patient Department (OPD). “H3N2 patients are coming with severe myalgia which is a lot of body pain, muscle pain, headache along with runny nose. Previously, we saw several upper respiratory tract symptoms like runny nose and cough but no body aches. Luckily, we are not seeing any hospitalisation. We are seeing that coughs last for many days and sometimes even fever which is ongoing for 5 days,” she said.