Gurgaon reports four new cases of swine flu, unofficial figure cross 70

Patients complained of very high fever and had difficulty breathing

After a lull of two years, swine flu or the H1N1 virus has returned to Gurgaon. The health department confirmed four new cases of swine flu on Thursday, increasing the official count to six.

The swine flu patients have been identified as—a seven-month-old girl from Sector 45, a 56-year-old man from DLF Phase-4, a 77-year-old woman from Sector 61 and an eighty-year-old woman from Sector 46. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The health department has not included patients admitted at private hospitals in the city have not been included in this data. Unofficial figures of swine flu-positive cases has crossed 70.

The swine flu patients have been identified as—a seven-month-old girl from Sector 45, a 56-year-old man from DLF Phase-4, a 77-year-old woman from Sector 61 and an eighty-year-old woman from Sector 46.

The patients, who had very high fever and faced difficulty breathing, have been admitted to the civic hospital.

In recent months, the highly contagious flu has claimed many lives in the National Capital Region, but doctors at the Civic Hospital said people should not worry.

“The H1N1 positive cases are on the rise, but there is no need to panic. We have directed all private hospitals to submit the swab samples to us; we will conduct the tests. Only the health department can confirm a swine flu case,” said BK Rajora, chief medical official, civil hospital.

The epidemic department at Civil Hospital has seen 68 cases of suspected swine flu in the city this year, department incharge Dr Ram Prakash said.

Private doctors and hospitals, however, seem more on the edge.

“Every week, we are get more than two patients with swine flu-like symptoms. The number of actual swine flu patients may be much higher than the official figures,” said Dr Rajesh Kumar, senior consultant, internal medicine, Paras Hospitals in Gurgaon.

Read I Gurgaon hospitals on alert as suspected swine flu cases rise

According to the latest report by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), four deaths were reported from Delhi and neighbouring areas till July 9. In the same period, 241 cases of H1N1 were reported from the National Capital Region (NCR).

In 2014, the flu virus—which gets active in humid and cold weather conditions—infected 34 people in Gurgaon, with no reported deaths. The last case of swine flu in NCR was reported in March, 2015.