Maharashtra sees 90% dip in swine flu cases, deaths

Maharashtra reported a 90% drop in swine flu deaths and cases in 2018, compared to last year, state officials who conducted an extensive screening and diagnosis programmes across the state have found

Maharashtra reported a 90% drop in swine flu deaths and cases in 2018, compared to last year, state officials who conducted an extensive screening and diagnosis programmes across the state have found.

People coming out of the screening centre of Swine flu ward Bhabha Hospital Bandra. (HT File Photo)

In 2017, Maharashtra recorded the most number of deaths (532) from swine flu, followed by Gujarat (396) and Rajasthan (141). At least 4,926 people had been infected with the H1N1 virus that year. According to Directorate of Health Services (DHS), until September 10, 2018, the state reported just 51 deaths and 420 cases.

The state officials said they screened 13,76,339 people, while more than 1.28 lakh people were vaccinated to ensure the disease doesn’t peak again between November and February — the season most favourable for the spread of the virus.

Earlier this year, state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant visited districts that were affected the most, and held meetings with local health officials, members of National Institute of Virology (NIV) and infectious disease experts from government medical colleges to chart out a plan of action to contain the spread of H1N1, officials said.

“This year, we focused our intervention programmes in the most susceptible regions of the state, such as Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik and Pune,” said Dr Sanjeev Kamble, director, DHS. “The high-risk population with diabetes, hypertension, pregnant mothers and children were specifically screened and vaccinated to ensure such medically vulnerable groups don’t develop advanced complications from swine flu.”

Officials said this year, most of the deaths were reported from Pimpri Chinchwad (15) and Nashik (14), followed by Pune rural(4) and Pune city (3). Akola, Ahmednagar, Buldhana and Nagpur reported two deaths each; Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Vashim, Osmanabad, Satara and Chandrapur reported one death each.

Dr Kamble said more people were vaccinated this year, as there was no shortage of the Tamiflu vaccine. “Every district, sub-district hospital and medical college has sufficient stock of the pills, which have proven to be most effective to treat swine flu,” he said.

Experts, however, also pointed out that the drop in cases could be attributed to environmental factors and relatively higher temperatures than last year. They advised practitioners to be attentive towards patients showing atypical symptoms to avoid a delay in diagnosis. “If the infection is diagnosed early, it is relatively easier to treat. People must avoid self-medication, as swine flu shares many symptoms with common flu,” said Dr Om Srivastava, an infectious disease specialist

Primary swine flu symptoms include fever, lethargy, headache, cough, sore throat and nausea. While most people recover within a week, those with low immunity, and those with chronic diseases such as asthma, lung diseases, diabetes, cancer, kidney or heart problems, risk serious complications and even death from multi-organ failure.