First H3N2 case in Bihar, infected woman recovers

The ICMR has described seasonal influenza as an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses, which circulate in all parts of the world, and the cases increase during certain months globally

A 30-year-old female medical student from Patna who tested positive last week for the H3N2 virus, a subtype of seasonal influenza, the first reported in the state this year, has recovered, said health officials familiar with the development on Sunday.

A total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of influenza including H3N2 were reported in India till March 9 (Representative Photo)

“The woman had come to my outdoor patient department (OPD) with fever and dry cough around seven to ten days back, and I advised her to get tested for H3N2 virus, after which she was prescribed Oseltamivir, an anti-viral drug. She has now recovered,” said Dr Krishna Pandey, director of ICMR’s Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), where her sample was tested.

The woman did not require any hospitalisation, and had no travel history, he added. A state health official said that they were trying to collect details of the case.

“The case came to light on Saturday and we are trying to get details from the RMRIMS,” said a state health official of the integrated disease surveillance programme (IDSP) unit.

The rising trend in influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory illnesses (ILIs/SARIs) in some states and Union Territories across the country has put the government on alert.

In a letter to the chief secretary and heads of health departments of all states and UTs, on Saturday, union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan asked them to take stock of hospital preparedness, including drugs, medical equipment, medical oxygen, etc., capacity building of human resource on existing guidelines as well as vaccination coverage against Covid-19 and influenza.

He also asked them to strictly implement ‘Operational Guidelines for Revised Surveillance Strategy in Context of Covid-19’, which provides for integrated surveillance of respiratory pathogens presenting as cases of ILI/SARI.

Bhushan also advised state and district IDSP units to monitor the proportion of SARI cases among all ILI and SARI cases, and refer a sufficient number of samples for testing for influenza SARS-CoV-2 and adenovirus.

“Based on the centre’s directions, we will issue guidelines tomorrow to the principal and superintendent of medical colleges and civil surgeon and medical officer in charge of health facilities in districts,” said a state health official.

Young children and old age persons with co-morbidities are the most vulnerable groups in the context of seasonal influenza. So far, Karnataka and Haryana have confirmed one death each from H3N2 influenza.

The ICMR has described seasonal influenza as an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses, which circulate in all parts of the world, and the cases increase during certain months globally.

A total of 3,038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of influenza including H3N2 were reported in India till March 9. These include 1,245 cases in January, 1307 in February, and 486 cases till March 9, as per data on the IDSP-integrated health information platform (IHIP).

A total of 397,814 cases of acute respiratory illness/influenza-like illness (ARI/ILI) were reported from the country in January this year which increased to 436,523 in February, this number stood at 133,412 cases in the first 9 days of March, according to IDSP-IHIP data.